Akatsuki no Hana
by Draconicmaw
Summary: Prince Yonin lives an ideal life as the only prince of his empire. Doted on by his mother, the empress, and protected by his faithful guard Hae, he cherishes the time spent with the woman he loves, Wan-soo. But everything changes on his 16th birthday when tragedy strikes his family! (100% GENGERBENT! Male!Yona, Fem!Hak, Fem!Soo-won, Fem!Four Dragon Warriors, very few exceptions!)
1. Chapter 1: Prince Yonin

_The red star ascends…_

 **Chapter One: Prince Yonin**

 _The wind pulled locks of his brilliant hair from beneath his hood to dance in the red glow of dawn. He suppressed his shiver at the chilled gust, and his hand tightened on the pommel of his sword._

" _Prince Yonin, we should leave soon," a feminine voice informed._

" _Yes," Yonin replied, solemn violet eyes affixed to the horizon._

 _It was cold… There in the mountains, it seemed very cold._

 _He had no idea it could be so cold outside the palace…_

* * *

 _In Kouka Empire, there was what was once Yonin's palace, Palace Hiryuu. At the time, the empress did not have an heir to the throne, nor a consort to supply one. She only had a fifteen-year-old prince, one she had raised with great care._

"Mother…" Yonin murmured, looking into the mirror with a pout, "My hair… It's… _odd_ , isn't it?

Approaching her son, the cheerful woman smiled fondly. "It's not odd." Her hands folded in front of her, and her face gleamed with maternal joy. "Your handsomeness outrivals any precious gem."

The prince tugged a lock of his hair through his pale fingers and turned away from the reflective glass. "I do suppose I was born with an admirable face, but Mother…" he huffed, "this hair!" He pushed the brilliant wavy strands behind his shoulder as if in demonstration. " _Why_ is it so _red_?" He repeated a confounded, annoyed expression displayed an innumerable amount of times in his young life. "Even my father had glossy black hair." A growl of frustration ripped from his lips, and he stomped away from his still-smiling mother, though the expression was becoming a little stiff. " _It makes me look WEIRD!"_

"That's not true." The empress nearly grimaced at being put in such an awkward, hormonal position, but looked to the side for support, "Right, Hae?"

Silent until this moment, the raven haired young woman in the room replied, "Yes, Empress Ila. I have heard no one say that the prince's hair is strange." She lifted her face up and stared directly at the prince. "But if I may be so bold to say…" Her face exuded profound seriousness. "... there's definitely something wrong with his brain."

Yonin halted immediately. His eyebrow ticked, and his teeth gritted. "Shut it, servant." Suddenly, he was in motion, throwing random objects, anything he could reach - a teapot, some tea cups, the occasional bottle of cologne - at the blue-clad girl, all of which she either caught and set safely to the side or batted away with a flick of the wrist. "Mother! Do something about this… this… _Ugh_! Even though she's supposed to be my servant, she's so… so _arrogant!_ "

Now strained, Ila's smile held a hint of gentle chiding. "Now, now, Yonin. Hae is a childhood friend of yours, remember?" She supplied the reminder as if it would abate her son's irritation. By the way the fifteen-year-old continued launching personal affects at Hae, she could tell it didn't, so she continued on patiently. "Besides, Hae is the general commander of the palace guard at just eighteen. It only makes sense that she'd also be your bodyguard."

Yonin's scoff was haughty. "You don't understand! If I'm going to have a bodyguard, then the person should be cuter!"

"Speaking of cute…" Hae began, inspecting the empty, no-longer-airborne teacup in her hand with obviously faked interest, before her clear blue eyes snapped up to gaze at the prince before her. "You don't mind not looking _'cute'_ yourself?" Yonin's eyebrows furrowed angrily and his mouth dropped open, but Hae continued before he could speak, "She's already arrived. Lady Wan-soo that is."

The prince was on the move, dashing off in a blur of red hair and bright robes. " _Why didn't you say that sooner?!_ "

Ila's smile fell away, and shock conquered her features. "Wan-soo?" She looked to Hae. "Is that the reason why he was so worried about his hair?" Hae's eyebrows rose in response. "Why would Wan-soo care about that? She's his cousin."

Hae pretended to take a sip from the teacup and blandly stared at the empress over the rim. "You really don't understand men, do you?"

The bridge of Ila's nose and her eyebrows crinkle up into a slightly-offended knot. "What?"

A young attendant, who had gone unnoticed since entering the room - besides nearly getting plowed over by a frantic prince, politely cleared her throat. "We must go, Empress Ila; you are behind in paperwork!"

* * *

' _Wan-soo!'_

Yonin dashed down the walkway.

' _Wan-soo!'_

He zipped past an unsuspecting laundry boy and just barely managed not knocking him over. After all, he hardly registered what was happening around him; in his mind, he could only see the innocent, smiling face of a young girl.

' _Ever since we were children, she's always been by my side.'_

In his memory, she laughed, head tilting to the side with her smile, sandy blonde hair swaying with the motion.

' _My dear, sweet Wan-soo…'_

Without swaying a bit, he rounded a corner, the palace wall obscuring whether or not there would be someone else walking around it as well.

' _My beloved cousin, three years older than myself… Finally today…'_

The air rushed from his lungs as he crashed into someone, a slight figure who clinged to his arms to keep from falling. "Oof!"

'... _After so long…'_

Yonin's own hands reflexively grasped onto the thin, robed shoulders of the person accidentally assailed by his excited charge.

A bubbly giggle drifted up to his ears to pierce through the shocked daze, followed by a gentle voice, "You should be more careful."

He deliriously met sparkling green eyes, ones that smiled up with a warmth Yonin felt he had missed for far too long.

"It looks like you're doing well as usual, Prince Yonin."

' _I get to see Wan-soo.'_

Yonin hurriedly stepped back, a blush rising to his cheeks as his arms fell to his sides.

Yes, it was definitely Wan-soo, but it wasn't the cute little girl from childhood memory… no, before Yonin stood a beautiful young _woman_.

Wan-soo's hands delicately dropped to clasp in front of her, but she leaned forward to concernedly study the flustered expression on Yonin's face. "Is something amiss? You're panicking."

Yonin gulped down the heart that had leapt to his throat before hurriedly explaining, "I heard you arrived, so I came to receive you."

Wan-soo beamed and playfully pinched Yonin's cheek. "That is so admirable of you."

Yonin froze - shocked, pleased, but completely irritated at the same time - before he cleared his throat. "Y-You'll stay here longer this time, right?"

Wan-soo giggled again, her silky bangs falling into her emerald eyes. "Of course! I came for your birthday, a week away." She tilted her head again. "Speaking of your birthday, you'll be turning sixteen, huh?" She tried to reach up and pat Yonin's head and ruffle his hair, but only awkwardly managed it. "My oh my, you've gotten so big!"

Befuddled, Yonin blinked down at her. Wan-soo stepped back, leaving Yonin's tediously-prepared hair disheveled irreparably.

" _So…_ Where is Empress Ila and Hae? I have yet to greet them!" Not waiting for a reply, she stepped around Yonin and whirled away with a skip in her step, a trait from the prince's dearest childhood memories that seemed to have stayed with Wan-soo.

' _Treating me like a child.'_

He huffed, wrenching his eyes away from the corner Wan-soo disappeared around.

' _Treating me like a_ child. _'_

Another huff tore from the prince as he glared at the ground, his blush rising to a furious scarlet as his vexation mounted.

' _Treating_ me _like a child.'_

His mind raced, fumbled as it reviewed the situation that just unraveled, and his chin fell as he stared at the walkway, the exact place she had been standing. Without realizing it, he began to voice his dissatisfied thoughts aloud. "This morning, I prepared the most well-crafted clothing, the finest colognes… even the highest quality herbal cleansing scrubs…"

Someone behind him sighed dramatically. "All that hard work… has gone to waste…"

Startled, Yonin snapped around to find Hae leaning against the decorative fence and nonchalantly eating a peach.

How long had she been there?

" _Shut_ _up!_ " he growled with no scarce amount of embarrassment. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he turned his back on Hae. "Dense Wan-soo…"

' _To Wan-soo, I'm the same as I was back then, when we were children.'_

* * *

 _Something ate at his heart. He was so lonely, he couldn't think of nearly anything else. The thoughts he could hold onto were foggy and blurry. His body could only wander anywhere his small feet could take him. Everything looked so dull, and what he saw didn't seem to reach his brain._

" _Yonin!" a usually small voice called._

 _He paused when he heard the cry of his name, but continued with his lost shuffling, though he swayed his arms as if everything was all right._

 _A tiny hand landed gently on his shoulder to stop him. "I've heard you haven't been eating lately, and it's worrying me, so-"_

 _Yonin shrugged off the touch and kept walking. He couldn't handle it right now. Wan-soo was always so happy and joyful and filled with light, and that light was pushing its way into the dark eating Yonin's heart. The light numbed the sadness, and that scared Yonin._

 _Erasing that pain… Was like erasing what happened, and Yonin's broken spirit couldn't take that._

" _... I'm going over here, Wan-soo," he murmured, quiet voice wobbling._

 _Yonin wasn't really sure where "over here" was, but if it got him away from Wan-soo, from_ anyone, _then it seemed like the best place to go._

 _But the lonely feeling clung to Wan-soo, and he listened intently to the sound of her feet shuffling through the grass to follow him._

" _But-"_

"Shut up!" _He yelled, voice cracking as he choked back tears._

 _With the ruffling of cloth, Wan-soo's overcoat landed on Yonin's head and fell onto him. He grunted in surprise and naturally shrank into the comfort. "What-"_

" _It's all right. Nobody will see it if you do this," she whispered and moved closer to hug him from behind. "Now, it's okay to cry, because no one will see it."_

 _The words echoed to Yonin's innocent, troubled soul and pulled out the tears so deeply locked within. He crumpled to his knees and covered his eyes with his hands as he struggled through all the sadness and pain._

" _I…" He sniffled through a sob, "can never… f-fall asleep anymore."_

 _Wan-soo patted his back consolingly._

" _Because… Father isn't there to read to me… and h-hold my hand…" He whimpered, clenching his fingers around the imagined hand of his father._

 _Wan-soo stilled in the midst of rubbing Yonin's back. "Oh.. It's because the empress' husband just passed away…" she whispered, mostly to herself, but Yonin heard it, and it made him curl up even tighter._

" _Yes," he snuffled again, trying to keep himself from sobbing again._

 _Suddenly, Wan-soo darted in front of Yonin. "I'll be your father!" she declared, voice filled with determination._

 _Yonin's head jolted up, and he looked at her with wide, teary, surprised eyes._

" _First, you need to eat!" She dug into the pocket of her robes. "See?! Have the pear my teacher gave me."_

 _Yonin noticed that even though Wan-soo's stomach growled, she still forced the pear into his hands._

 _Later, Wan-soo was curled under the blanket with Yonin as she held his hand. Yonin almost told her that his father didn't_ lie _in bed with him, but it was too nice for him to push her away._

" _I'll do exactly what your father did and hold your hand until you fall asleep," she whispered, both of her small hands clasped around one of Yonin's. "So when your tears fall down, I'll wipe them away so no one will see." She smiled kindly. "So you can smile tomorrow."_

* * *

Looking back on it, Yonin felt foolish. The pounding of his heart made it even more difficult for him to fall asleep.

' _You are the most precious person in my life.'_

His sigh gusted from his lungs, and he pushed away some of the longer strands of hair that fell into his face. He walked away, leaving Hae, leaning on the fence and eating her peach…

...But all the while, her eyes were locked on the lovesick prince.

* * *

The morning was bright, the clouds fluffy as they drifted across an azure sky, but Yonin paid no mind as he stepped through the open door.

"Good morning, Wan-soo! I have brought an assortment of sweets!" He declared… to a room empty but of one attendant.

The attendant, Min-soo, looked to him as she gathered up a tea set. "Oh, Prince Yonin. If you're looking for Lady Wan-soo, she's outside with General Hae."

He rushed out and to the railing of the terrace that overlooked a field set up for archery practice. Two horses trotted along, their eight strong, graceful legs kicking up dust in the morning light. Hae sat upon one, her bow lowered, arrow relaxedly poised, her face decorated with a fond smile. Upon the other, with her hair tied back, Wan-soo spoke with a smile and the occasional laugh, a bow in her hand as well.

Jealousy boiled in Yonin's gut, a scowl pulled at his lips, and his knuckles turned white from his frustrated grip on the railing. "No fair, Hae!" he hissed malevolently, "Stealing Wan-soo away while I'm not looking!"

His mother approached from behind, her ever-present smile… ever-present. "Now, now," she began, the words foretelling a chiding, and Yonin rolled his eyes, "You aren't the only one who hasn't seen her in a while."

Out in the field, Hae nudged Wan-soo, and said something - inaudible to Yonin - with that irritating, mocking grin with which Yonin was _all_ too familiar. Wan-soo's only notable responses were a laugh and a nudge of the leg to stir the horse into a canter.

"Since they're the same age, they can probably relate more easily," Ila added, as if in after thought.

Yonin sighed and focused on Wan-soo's face as she nocked the arrow and drew back the bowstring. Her eyes narrowed, her brows furrowed with concentration. Beads of sweat curled down her temples and onto her face. So fierce, the expression filled Yonin with awe. Beautiful, determined, and graceful: a falcon prepared to dive. She banked and swooped, talons outstretched…

 _Fwt!_

The arrow punched into the center of the target.

The horse pushed into a gallop, but the arrows found their marks, one after another in a precise barrage.

"I want to do archery with Wan-soo!" Yonin exclaimed, starstruck by Wan-soo's impressive display of skill.

"What?!" Ila cried, obviously appalled by her son's sporadic declaration. "Not a chance! I could never let you hold a weapon." Her lips tightened into a straight line as she watched Hae storm behind her friend, the heads of her arrows shoving themselves next to their comrades in the bullseyes. "Honestly, I don't even want those two to have them."

Yonin snapped to her, "Then why don't you do it, Mother?"

The empress' eyebrow wrinkled as she looked away. "I could get hurt, right?"

The prince seethed. "Urgh! Coward!"

"Yonin!" A feminine voice cut through their conversation.

Wan-soo led her steed to the base of the steps. "Come on down! Come ride the horse!"

Yonin was already rushing down the stairs when Ila reproachfully cried, "Wan-soo!"

Her niece smiled back reassuringly. "He'll be fine. He'll just be riding the horse."

Yonin gulped down his anxiety when he approached the large animal and its rider. Up close, it looked even taller, and he wondered how Wan-soo even managed to get up there. She noticed his obvious trepidation and offered her hand. "Relax. Hae and I will support you."

Two short women, supporting Yonin? "But-" he attempted to protest, but Hae was already boosting him up with her astonishing strength.

When he still resisted, Hae muttered, "Hae will die under the prince's weight soon…"

"I will not resist kicking you!" the flustered and angry teenager snapped while grabbing on to the back of the saddle.

Wan-soo giggled and extended her hand again. "It's all right. You love horses, don't you?"

His grasp accepted hers, and a blush bloomed on his cheeks despite his resistance to it. "Yes."

' _But I love you more.'_

With Hae, her physical prowess was amazing yet predictable; she wasn't captain of the palace guard and general of the Wind Tribe for no reason. But the strength with which Wan-soo tugged Yonin up caught him completely off guard. Soon enough, Yonin sat upon the horse, Wan-soo practically in his lap.

She giggled at the prince's awkward posture and tugged his arms around her waist. "Lean in close to me. I'll support you."

' _Oh god, her voice, her scent…!'_ Yonin reeled, eyes squeezed shut as Wan-soo's voice vibrated from her back and into his chest. When she shifted in his arms, he reflexively tightened his hold around her waist and was surprised by the firmness there.

" _Yo-nin! Let's play!"_ A far-off memory called.

' _She was such an adorable little girl when she was a child, but now…'_

Wan-soo was definitely not a little girl anymore.

Yonin cleared his throat. "Isn't this a violation?"

Wan-soo froze, confused. "Hm?"

"Oh!" The prince exclaimed in a panicked, rambling tone of voice; indeed, the rest of his words tumbled out of his mouth in a cringe-worthy waterfall, "I mean, it feels like you're used to handling men. As if you've brought them to your home frequently."

' _Oh no, what am I even saying?!'_

He decided to end his statement with an awkward chuckle. "Aha."

Over her shoulder, Wan-woo smiled stiffly, blankly, with no verbal response.

Yonin's amethyst eyes widened, and even more heat rushed to his cheeks. "No way -"

"Well, uh," Wan-woo tittered, trying to smile placatingly. "No, don't get the wrong idea. We've been discussing to whom I will be engaged."

A shock punched Yonin's nerves. _'Engaged?!'_

"Huh? I didn't know that…" Yonin babbled, flustered, jealous, stunned.

She shrugged sheepishly. "Well, it hasn't been decided yet." She looked embarrassed enough to sweat. "Let's stop talking about this. I can't talk about this with you."

Indignation heated Yonin's blood. _'She's still treating me like a child!'_

Yonin was grown, too! He was a young man, a perfectly capable adult! Why couldn't Wan-soo see that?

"I-I'm about to be engaged, too."

It was Wan-soo's turn to widen her eyes with surprise. "Huh? To whom?"

"To Hae!" Came Yonin's immediate reply.

After which ensued a pause, where Yonin questioned everything and _felt_ his bodyguard's eyes searing into the back of his head.

' _Idiot! By that I mean - It's obvious that the first name that would come to mind is Hae's! But I can't help it, right? She's the only girl that I know besides Wan-soo who is close in age. So stop staring at me with those suspicious eyes, servant!'_

But his false admission only made everything more complicated. Yonin was more than certain that Wan-soo would never approach an engaged man, especially if that man were engaged to her best friend! The "engagement" wasn't _at all_ real, but Wan-soo didn't know that!

' _Well, now I truly regret this_.'

Really, nothing could be done to salvage the situation except for some awkward backtracking, so the prince hurried to do just that.

"Uh… I mean-"

"That's wonderful!" Wan-soo chirped, genuinely happy as she patted Yonin's forearm. "Congratulations."

* * *

"Wan-soo was too cruel," the red-haired prince despaired, his face buried in his opulent sleeves and an aura of gloom hanging about his slouched shoulders. "To think she'd believe such a lie…"

Had, standing behind the prince, stared at the ground blankly. "You're the one who's cruel." She paused, more likely for dramatic effect than genuine reflection. "And annoying."

All in the room ignored the general's comments as Empress Ila regarded her son with an all-to-serious face.

"Your getting married might not be a lie."

Stunned, Yonin uncovered his face and turned to his mother. "What?"

Unphased, Ila continued, "Naturally, we must choose an appropriate partner."

"Mother?" Yonin said faintly.

Hae and Min-soo watched silently and felt the tension in the air. The conversation had barely started, and they in knew it was not going to go well at all.

"You'll be sixteen soon. Being engaged wouldn't be such an odd thing, would it?" Ila waved a hand languidly. "I've been wanting to discuss it, anyway."

"No…" Yonin said, first as an automatic response, then with more conviction, "No! Wan-soo is the one I -"

"It can't be Wan-soo," Ila cut in, calmly, as if to balance the fiery passion exuding from her son.

"I don't want you telling me who my lover can be!" Yonin spat vehemently, amethyst eyes blazing like his hair.

"Yonin," came his mother's soft but stern reprimand, "Up until now, I have given you everything you have asked of me. Whether it be exquisite hair pins, the finest clothing, a villa, a personal garden - anything except a weapon. But…" She shook her head slowly. "It doesn't matter how many times you ask me; I cannot give you Wan-soo."

Yonin sat, stunned, eyes distant and tearful as his mother spoke.

" _You_ the prince of the Kouka empire. The woman who becomes your wife will also become this nation's empress."

Outside, the rain pattered on the roof, and Hae turned her head to watch the droplets fall down instead of the prince who was slowly wilting into himself.

But Yonin wouldn't give up just yet.

"Wan-soo is your sister's - Aunt Yuon's - daughter," he said quietly, head tilted forward and a red curtain of bangs obscuring his eyes. "She possesses royal blood, does she not?"

The ensuing pause was filled with rain and the threat of tears, but Ila stood her ground. "She does. But _I_ will be the one to choose who my successor shall be."

Bitterness unfurled in Yonin's heart. "Why…? Wan-soo is an excellent woman." He forced his voice to stay steady, though he could not meet the empress' gaze. "You're afraid of weapons, and you don't strike others, either. You are a cowardly empress."

Ila did not bow her head, nor did any anger bleed into her face or voice at the implied comparison. "I truly am a cowardly empress." Her voice grew heavy with wistful, noble sorrow, much like the solemn drops of rain on the empty walkways of the vast palace. "Your father was attacked and killed by a rebel. Everyone in the empress' family must face the threat of these kinds of dangers. Knowing this, I didn't bother to remarry." Looking back on this moment, Yonin would realize that he had never heard his mother sound so lonely. "Yonin…"

"You want Wan-soo to be happy, don't you?"

* * *

"I don't understand."

Pale fingers curled into soft silk.

"I don't understand, mother."

' _Then…'_

Yonin stared sullenly up at the stormy night sky.

' _It doesn't matter if the woman who becomes my wife makes me happy?'_

He'd cried himself empty already, and now he sat against the wall in a state of languid, contemplative depression.

' _Me…?_ I _can't achieve happiness?'_

He blinked slowly, and a small innocent face flashed behind his eyelids.

" _Yonin. You're not alone, Yonin."_

The prince's heart ached and lurched and wilted at the memories.

" _I'm here. I'll always be here for you. So smile!"_

His eyebrows furrowed with sorrow, and his eyes stung again. He was wrong; there were more tears. There were _always_ more tears.

"But… mother is right…" he whispered with a broken sigh. "Even if mother allowed it… I'm just a child to Wan-soo…" He curled his arms around his knees and tried to blink the burning from his eyes. "It's no use." He sniffled. _'From the very beginning, Wan-soo and I…'_

 _Pitter. Patter. Pitter. Patter._

He lifted his head at the sound.

' _Is that the sound of rain…?'_

 _Pitter. Patter. Pitter. Patter._

' _No.'_

It was too loud, too strong, too solid.

His heart fluttered like a frightened bird.

' _Those are footsteps.'_

A sickly feeling washed over him, a sensation that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. A feeling of being observed.

He turned his head, and there, at the corner of the walkway, lurked a shadow.

Yonin blinked and gulped. "Who is there? Hae…?" He hoped beyond hope that it was Hae… "It's Hae, right? Stop. I'm not in the mood for your stupid jokes." … but a nagging itch in his skull whispered that it wasn't.

The shadow's hand reached out, sprawling, grasping, and Yonin shuddered away, throwing himself from the ground and dashing away. He ran, ran, ran, panting, tripping, fleeing in animal panic.

His mother's words stabbed through his brain.

" _Your father was attacked and killed by rebels."_

His heart jumped into his mouth. _Attacked and killed._

' _It can't be! This can't be happening!"_

Lightning cracked and roared, tearing the night sky asunder in a flash of blinding white. The shadow of his pursuer fell around him like a heavy black cloak.

' _He's right behind me!'_

Yonin skidded around a corner, his loud footsteps hardly registering with the sound of his pulse pounding in his ears. He slammed through the nearest door and heaved it shut behind him. Gasping for breath, he pressed his forehead to the wood. Claw-like, a hand curled into the shoulder of his kimono. A tug reeled him back on his unsteady feet, and he was falling into someone's clutches.

" _No!_ " he cried, hands scrambling out in a bid to grab the door. "Stop! Let go of me!"

' _Someone, please,_ anyone _\- Wan-soo!'_

"Yonin?" a concerned voice breathed, like an answer to his prayer.

He jolted, tearful, finally recognizing the hands on his shoulders, the voice in his ear, and the warmly-lit room into which he had barged. There, kneeling on the floor with him, was -

"Wan-soo!"

Her hands fell away, and she smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Did I frighten you? When you came bursting in like that, I thought you needed to talk."

Yonin whirled on her, his panic reawakened, and gasped out, "Wan-soo, th-there's someone - a stranger - following me!"

Wan-soo's emerald eyes snapped open wide, and she gracefully stood and opened the door. "There's no one here."

Yonin's thoughts raced, nearly crashing together.

' _He ran away? But if it were a palace guard, he would have called out to me.'_

It was someone _else_. It had to be.

Yonin clutched himself in his shivering arms, heart not once slowing as terror clawed at the edges of his mind.

' _I was targeted.'_

Cold sweat curled down his temples, and all of his muscles and tendons quaked beneath his skin. Once again, the empress' words once again echoed back to him. _"Everyone in the empress' family must face the threat of these kinds of dangers."_

' _Targeted because I am the prince? Because…'_ he gulped, not noticing that he was rocking back and forth feverishly, _'because I am the empress' son?'_

"Yonin?"

The prince held his head in his hands as the gentle call only mixed with the cacophony of hysteria surging in his mind.

"Yonin!" A small hand clasped his shoulder.

He yanked himself from the touch. " _Nooo!_ "

The silky fabric of an overcoat fell over his head and back, and Wan-soo used it to carefully drag him closer. When his teary eyes fell open, they met sandy blonde hair and a tender verdant gaze.

"Listen. It's all okay. I'm right here," she cooed.

Yonin froze, and all the levees broke at once. His face crumpled up, tears squeezing from his lashes, and he whimpered pitifully, " _Wan-soo_." He lurched back a little, though he clutched the overcoat tight to his shoulders. "No, I… I can't be here with you," he croaked,

"Why not?" Wan-soo asked, her sweet face still concerned.

' _If I'm here, you'll be in danger, too,'_ he thought, though he couldn't bring himself to say it aloud.

Meanwhile, quiet realization dawned on Wan-soo's face as she misinterpreted the young man's hesitant pause. She abruptly stood. "If you'd prefer to be with Hae, I can take you to her room."

Yonin hastily shoved the overcoat from his head. "What?"

Wan-soo turned away. "Isn't she your betrothed?"

A small noise of frustration rumbled in the back of the prince's throat. That lie was going to keep coming to bite him in the posterior, it seemed… "N… No, she isn't."

"There's no need to hide it," Wan-soo replied, a bit of amusement bleeding into her tone with her next statement. "She's going to be angry if she finds out we were alone together."

Yonin's amethyst eyes stared at her back and the glossy blonde hair swept over her shoulder. _'No, Wan-soo… No. It's not like that.'_ His lips moved soundlessly, until, finally, he cleared his throat and managed to have words rasp out. "I…" he hesitated again. Could he really tell her? _'It's all right if you don't see me the way I see you… So…'_ It felt like there was sand in his mouth, so he gulped again. "The truth is, I…" His tears continued to fall freely as he whined, "Wan-soo…"

He might not ever have her, nor the life he yearned for with her, but… _'I'm allowed to have these feelings, right?'_ He might be a prince, but, first and foremost, he was human.

"For so long, I've…" The lump in his throat stuck as Wan-soo turned her striking eyes back to him. "I've…" Blushing fiercely in embarrassment at his inability to articulate himself, he held his face in his hands.

"Huh? Looks like the rain is letting up," she commented.

Yonin's hands fell away, and he looked at the woman he loved so dearly with bewildered eyes.

' _She's… She's pretending not to notice…'_

Wan-soo smiled her innocent, disarming smile. "I'll walk you to your room. A guard will stay with you.'

Yonin reached out a paled, shaking hand. "W-Wan-soo, I -"

The young woman swatted his hand away with a sharp _SLAP!I_

The prince recoiled. Shock was becoming all too familiar a feeling to Yonin.

"I'm sorry, but please don't get so close," Wan-soo murmured, pivoting away once again. "I might get the wrong idea.'

The wrong idea…

Yonin eagerly latched onto those words. His blood thrummed in his veins, and he leaned forward, slender fingers curling into his kimono. "How so?"

Wan-soo coughed awkwardly and tugged on her loosely bound hair. "I mean - the way you're acting - it's like you're…"

' _Wan-soo?'_

Was she… starting to understand? The notion made him heedlessly blurt out his next words. "What if it's _exactly_ what you think it is?" His face fell, and he contemplated the wording of his next question more carefully. "Would it bother you if it were?"

From where he was slowly standing, he couldn't hear Wan-soo's great exhale, but he saw it heave her delicate shoulders.

"It… It would be a problem." Wan-soo turned back to Yonin yet again in their jerking dance of a conversation, and she held her forehead in her hand as a blush stained her cheeks. "If I suddenly started thinking of you as a man, I wouldn't know what to do."

Yonin sated, dreamy-eyed, until he flushed with indignation. "How _do_ you think of me?"

"Huh? Well, as a brother."

"I know _that!_ "

"O… Okay." She scratched her head. "Sorry, I just don't know what to do in situations like this."

' _She's blushing so hard..'_ The sight made Yonin's heart swell and race in all the right ways. "Oh…? But what about all those engagement discussions?"

"Well, they weren't _my_ idea. I can't even imagine getting married yet."

A small, fond smile cracked Yonin's lips. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned forward. "Wan-soo, do you think of me as a man now?"

She put a hand over her mouth. "More or less…" Her arm dropped as she looked away. "I can't hold your hand and sleep beside you anymore. I'd lie awake all night from nerves."

Violet eyes rolled, and the prince scoffed haughtily. "Ha! Only now? You're more childlike than I thought."

"Wh-What?!"

He jabbed a finger at her. "I started feeling that way when I was six years old! You're a late bloomer."

Wan-soo's head jerked. "That's amazing, Yonin! You did? About whom?"

" _You_ , of course!" he snapped, hissing with frustration.

She leaned back defensively. "O-Oh, right."

The prince's ire faded quickly. "Well, anyway…" He gazed down adoringly at her. "If you're even a tiny bit interested in me, I'm all right with that, for now." His voice broke a little, and he turned away to wipe his tears.

As Wan-soo's hand petted his back soothingly, he could only think, _'Mother, I really do love Wan-soo. I don't know much about countries and rulers, but when she's with me… I couldn't be happier.'_

* * *

 _Five days later, there was a party held at Hiryuu Palace to celebrate the prince's sixteenth birthday._

One could not ask for a better day for a party; the sun was bright and warm, the breeze gentle and fresh. Still, the empress cried bittersweet tears.

"Dear me, sixteen!" Her hands clasped over her heart. "My little boy, all grown up!"

Yonin stood before her, an ornate headpiece in his hair and fine clothing adorning his tall, gangly form.

"Happy birthday, your highness," a noblewoman greeted.

"Happy birthday," a court gentleman echoed enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, the prince indignantly tugged on his vivid locks. "Mother, my hair keeps falling down. It's awful! I wanted to put it up elegantly today!"

The empress' chin dropped to her chest in mortification. "It's hopeless. You're only thinking about your hair. Acknowledge people's greetings, won't you?"

Once again, the prince wasn't paying any attention, instead scanning the crowd for…

' _Wan-soo!'_

She was across the walkway, and dressed in a lovely kimono and aquamarine overcoat that complemented her silky blonde hair. She looked gorgeous, some angelic vision. Yonin frantically turned to his attendant, who already held up a mirror for him to check and adjust his appearance. He had no choice; she had nearly reached him, so it'd have to do.

"Yonin," Wan-soo chirped, waving.

The prince's blush burgeoned into a red to rival his hair. "W-What is it?"

She smiled joyfully. "Hold out your hand."

He did eagerly.

"I got you…" she set the object on Yonin's open palm. "... This bun pin."

The round band was carved from a pale wood. Gold filigree set into it branched out like gently curling vines. Small emerald and pink gems peeked from between the gaps in a mimicry of foliage and blossoms. The pin that went through to hold the hair in place seemed to be made from that same wood. Yonin held it in his palm like it was a frail bird.

"Sorry for giving it to you only now. I thought it would look lovely on you.'

"With _my_ hair?" Yonin scoffed, trying to hide just how affected he was. "My hair's red and frizzy and always out of control. This won't look good on me."

Wan-soo blinked. "Huh?" She reached forward, cupping a lock and watching it curl around her fingers before spilling like water. "I think your hair is wonderful. Just look at it. It's such a beautiful red. Like the sky at dawn."

Yonin stared down at her in awe.

' _It was so simple.'_

He lifted the pin and held it to his chest. In that moment, Yonin loved his hair, too. Misty-eyed, he met Wan-soo's gaze. Both flustered and shy, they stared for a moment, before suddenly noticing a certain dark-haired general lurking at their sides. They reeled away from one another, faces flushing red.

"Hae?!"

The general crossed her arms and regarded the prince with a bland expression. "Her majesty is searching for you, your highness."

The empress! Yonin hadn't even noticed that she had wandered off! He whirled away. "Ugh! I bet she's drunk!"

Hae waited until Yonin was out of earshot before speaking again. "Well, I figured this was how things were."

Wan-soo turned to her. "Huh?"

Hae shrugged. "I'm sure you can persuade her majesty, Lady Wan-soo. Good luck."

"It's not what you think, Hae." The corner of her lip twitched up. "And can you not be so formal? Just call me Wan-soo like you used to do."

A hint of a self-deprecating smile. "I know my place.'

Wan-soo huffed dramatically, her hands tucked into opposite sleeves as her chin fell. "That's harsh, General Hae."

Hae looked away, scanning the crowd of nobles indulging a bit _too_ much in the rice wine. "Anyway, my lady, I wanted to ask you a question." Her blue eyes narrowed. "I can't pin it down, but something doesn't seem right. Do you feel it, too?" She looked back to the noblewoman next to her. "It's like someone's snuck into the palace."

Wan-soo exhaled roughly, her brows furrowing. "You know, Yonin mentioned something similar."

Immediately, Hae's focus sharpened. "What?"

Wan-soo nodded. "It might be wise to keep a close eye on everyone who comes and goes today."

Hae spun on her heel and walked away. "Very well. I'm counting on you to look after his highness, Lady Wan-soo."

Wan-soo chuckled awkwardly. "I told you, it's not what you think, Hae. And aren't _you_ supposed to be his guard?"

Hae waved over her shoulder dismissively.

* * *

Night descended quietly upon Hiryuu Palace. Stars winked from high above the ornate rooftops. There was no sign of the party that had been in full swing just an hour ago. Yonin welcomed the silence. It let him think, wonder, and sigh with a swollen, fluttering heart over the events of the day. He looked into the mirror, his eyes lingering on how the torchlight reflected off his brilliant locks.

' _Wan-soo said she liked my hair.'_ The bun pin sat upon his head, a handful of hair twisted elegantly within it. As soon as Yonin was in private, he had an attendant help him put it on. _'I'm never going to be able to stop thinking of her this way.'_

" _It doesn't matter how many times you ask me; I cannot give you Wan-soo."_

A cool breeze washed over Yonin as he left his room, his hand dragging gently along the railing. _'I'm going to talk to mother! I can't forget Wan-soo. If I explain, I'm sure she'll understand.'_

He paused as the stillness of the night sent a shiver up his spine. He dismissed the chilling animal dread. _'It's so quiet now that the party's over. Everyone drinks too much.'_ He remembered seeing Ila drink sakazuki after sakazuki of rice wine. _'Mother was awfully drunk, too. I hope she'd sobered up enough to have an actual conversation with me.'_ His lips tipped up and a gentle blush heated his cheeks. _'If not, I'll just go to Wan-soo's room.'_ A longing sigh heaved from his lungs. _'Oh, Wan-soo. I want to see you again soon.'_

When he arrived at his mother's door, he gave himself a moment to collect his scattered thoughts. The door was already ajar, so it gave a little beneath Yonin's fingertips when he touched it.

"Hm?" His red brows knitted in the center of his forehead. _'Drunk or not, you're the empress! You shouldn't be this careless!'_

He was on the verge of writing this off as just that, carelessness, when that shiver of dread crawled beneath his skin again.

' _No, something's not right. There's not one guard posted. And I didn't see a single soul on my way here. There's usually several guards making their rounds.'_

Shaking, he pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside.

"Mother?"

The sudden change in light made it hard to see, but Yonin could hear water dripping onto the floor. Quickly, his eyes adjusted.

Two silhouettes. A sword. His mother. She swayed. The sick sound of a blade leaving flesh. She fell to the ground with a _THUD!_ Dead weight. Drenched in crimson. Blood unfurling upon the floor like gory wings.

" _Ahhhh…"_ her last breath came, wet with the blood spilling from her lips.

"Mother!" Yonin cried. "Mother!" He fell to his knees, crawled to her. "Mother!" He cradled her head on his lap, her cap falling off, her ebony hair pouring out to pool in the blood.

A footstep drew his frantic eyes upward. He saw the red drops continue to fall to the ground, the second silhouette, the bloody sword flashing like lightning in the lamplight.

"Oh… you're still awake, Prince Yonin?"

Clutching his mother's body, Yonin stared, frozen in terror and shock. There, with blood upon her clothes, upon her fair cheek, was none other than…

' _Wan-soo!'_

 **CHAPTER ONE END**

 **A/N**

 **Draconicmaw pushes her glasses up. "Soooooooooo… Genderbent. Like, everything. For the most part." She sighs, rolling her shoulders. "This is actually a huge undertaking. I plan to replicate EVERYTHING in canon. This is 100% following the canon storyline, although this will, culturally, be set in a different world than canon. You know, matriarchy and all that jazz. If anyone has any advice or help with genderbending the names of the characters, that would be wonderful! With English you just change Michael to Michelle, but the names in this are not that simple."**

 **She rubs her eyes. It's late at night right now and Draconicmaw's bed is calling her name. "By the way, the name of this fic is based on the second OP of Akatsuki no Yona, called Akatsuki no Hana, or, 'Flower of the Dawn.' I know that Yonin is super prissy (so is Yona. So is Tae-jun, and that bitch is a dude.), but this is a different culture with different gender expectations."**

" **Anywho, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!"**


	2. Chapter 2: Shattered Bonds

**Chapter Two: Shattered Bonds**

A dark-haired woman stood out in the still night, her quandao, a long-handled sword, leaning against her shoulder. She glanced about, on edge. _'It's awfully quiet.'_

"General Hae!" a voice called cheerfully. It was Min-soo, the empress' attendant, flask in hand. "Keep up the good work patrolling!" She extended the flask forward. "Here, I brought you something to drink!"

Hae smiled, "Oh!" She turned to the other young woman. "Thoughtful as always, aren't you, Min-soo?" The weight of the flask felt promising in her hand.

"Say, shouldn't you be with Prince Yonin?" She asked softly.

"Hmm…" Hae hummed with playful contemplation, "That would be rather tactless of me." She pulled the cork from the flask, lifted the rim to her lips, and sat on the edge of the deck. "Lady Wan-soo is with him."

"Oh! Does she finally know how he feels about her?"

Hae stared up at the night sky from behind her sable bangs. "Hard to say. But it's probably just a matter of time."

"You know both of them awfully well, don't you, General?"

Blue eyes hazed, unfocused, distant. "Well, I've been watching them for a long time. Those two…" Behind her eyes lingered the image of a rosy-cheeked, red-haired little boy and a smiling, sweet-faced blonde. It made her lips curl fondly. "How should I put it?" She looked back to Min-soo, who saw how warmly the general's gaze gleamed. "I want them to be happy together."

* * *

Dark blood dripped from the sword and onto the floor. Yonin watched dazedly, his mother's still-warm body limp in his arms, as Wan-soo's cold eyes glared from a bloody face. "W…" the sound left him on a shaky breath, a drop of sweat sliding down his jaw. "Wan-soo…" No, no, no. It couldn't be what it looked like, even as she loomed above him like a bird of prey. "My mother, she's… Hurry…" One of his pale hands pressed to the floor, right in a pool of blood. "Get a doctor…" he whimpered.

"Empress Ila isn't going to open her eyes ever again," Wan-soo replied, tone a winter gale.

Yonin gasped and looked up at her, his violet eyes bewildered and disbelieving.

That green gaze narrowed. A hawk with bloodied talons. "I killed her."

Yonin's heart plummeted to his feet, and he collapsed forward onto his trembling hands, his hair tumbling into his face. "Wh-what are you saying?" His whole body quivered, on the verge of sickness or total structural failure. "Y-You're not someone who would do that…" he croaked. She was gentle, and kind, and so sweet - those things he cherished about her - no gentle, kind, sweet person could do this.

"You have no idea," Wan-soo said, factually. "I've been _dreaming_ of this day."

When Yonin turned his face back up, Wan-soo was still forbidding, foreign, with that heartless stare and blood-stained face. Ila's blood. "You… You… why? My mother, she cares about you so much, ever since - " his voice broke "- since you were little."

"That's true. And I loved Empress Ila very much. People called her a coward and said she feared battle because she was kind. However… That _wasn't_ the truth." A shadow fell over her expression, green eyes darkening like the night. "Not a shred of it was true. Do you remember my mother, Yuon?"

' _My aunt?'_

"Even as a child, she was bold and clever. And once she was a woman, the armies she led were undefeated. Everyone wanted her to become the next ruler of this country. Everyone _expected it_. And yet…" She trailed off, calculating her next statement. "Ten years ago, the old empress chose Aunt Ila over my mother. No one understood why. The eldest daughter was supposed to be the heir to the throne. So why was the timid younger sister chosen?" Wan-soo's eyes looked into the shadows, to some faraway place and time. "But my mother only smiled. 'The throne isn't what matters to me; I'll continue fighting on the front lines to defend my sister and our people,' she had said to me. I was so proud of mother. I… _respected_ her so much for all the dignity and grace she displayed. I'd grow up to stand beside her on the battlefield, and I'd give my life for her some day. That's what I believed." Her chin lowered, lips in a thin line but eyes narrowed into a sneer, "but soon after Empress Ila took the throne, she _murdered_ her sister."

That hissed statement finally drew Yonin from his paralysis, and he cried, "That's impossible! There was an accident!" His mother, no, she would never… not ever...

Wan-soo shook her head slowly, her dangerous eyes still locked on Yonin's. "That's the 'official' story. _My_ mother died when _yours_ ran her through!" She snarled, firelight sparking off her eyes and shimmering in the crimson splotches on her face. "Do you understand?" Her face fell back into a fatalistically blank expression. "Empress Ila supposedly hated weapons and avoided battle…" She lifted her dripping sword as if in testament. "... But my mother died on her blade." She paused, only for a moment. "Prince Yonin, that's why I've been living for this day for the past ten years."

It was all crashing around him. He clutched brokenly at his dead mother, his tainted hands smearing even more blood on her face. Wan-soo's words echoed, as if through water, "I have avenged my mother, and now I will follow in her footsteps."

That sweet face, the face of a cold murderer. "I will become the ruler of Kouka."

' _This is…'_ Everything in Yonin trembled, a breath away from crumbling. _'... A nightmare. The worst possible nightmare.'_

"This can't be happening," he choked to himself. Hours earlier, she had been smiling. She had given him the bun clip he still wore in his hair. _"I think your hair is wonder,"_ she had said.

' _You gave me… this hair pin…'_ He touched his tear-stained cheeks with trembling fingers and left red prints behind.

Had she been planning this all along? Had murder lurked behind her every word, every smile, every gesture? When she gave him this gift he cherished so, was she thinking about how she would kill Yonin's mother?

Wan-soo had moved closer, until she was at Ila's unmoving feet. "I didn't expect you to be up in the middle of the night, and I'd heard that you don't often visit the empress' quarters." Yonin couldn't meet her eyes anymore, and instead stared, terrified, at that horrible, fatal blade, the one that had torn a hole in Ila's chest and drained her life onto the floor. "Why did you come here, Prince Yonin?"

His voice quivered, a leaf battered in a stormy wind, "I w-wanted to tell her th-that-" thick, traumatized tears rolled from his gazeless eyes, "- that I'd never be able to give up on you." Yonin didn't see Wan-soo's eyes widen into big green disks, her face slack. "I wanted to tell… m-my mother-"

 _BAM!_

Yonin whirled instinctively when the door slammed open, his hands clutching his mother's body tighter to him.

"Lady Wan-soo!"

In poured soldiers, guards, the very men who were supposed to ensure Ila's safety, some familiar, some strange. "Preparations are complete, ma'am!"

From their ranks slunk a woman with long black hair. Austere, she regarded the scene before her with narrowed eyes. "The empress… so you've achieved your dream at long last." Yonin's veins froze as her calculating stare set upon him. "Hmm? My lady, Prince Yonin…" she turned her gaze upon the other woman. "... Did he… _see_ what you did?"

Wan-soo didn't respond. The crimson blood and salty tears smeared on the prince's face were answers enough.

"There's only one thing to be done," the woman continued coolly, "He has to die, Lady Wan-soo. _Silence_ him. Even if you spared his life, he would only suffer."

Yonin stared up at Wan-soo's face and searched desperately for mercy. "W-Wan-soo.." She wouldn't, not _his_ Wan-soo. She wouldn't kill him.

But those eyes hardened, that blade rose.

Yonin inhaled sharply, and with his pulse roaring in his ears, scrambled up and shoved his way through the soldiers at the door with surprising strength.

"Oh!" One exclaimed, shoved against the door, as the distraught young man clawed past in a blur of red.

Wan-soo wiped her sword clean. "Go bring him back, please."

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

Yonin's lungs burned, his muscles screamed, but his thoughts still raced along with his pace.

' _Who? Who is that person?'_

His feet thumped loudly over the walkway. He choked on every one of his sobs.

' _She killed my mother, and now she's trying to kill me! That woman…'_

\- The woman with a gelid face and no regard for the crimson dripping down her cheeks -

' _That woman isn't Wan-soo!'_

The thundering footsteps of the soldiers that chased him pushed him faster. Hunted like an animal in his own home.

' _That's not the Wan-soo I love.'_

A whip sliced through the air before wrapping around Yonin's ankle. Combined with his forward motion, the sharp yank applied sent Yonin crashing to the ground. "Aaah!" He slammed hard into the slate walkway, but hurriedly scrambled, stained, wet hands scraping against the stone.

"Say your prayers, your highness," the guard proclaimed, and Yonin's heart stuttered ever faster at the sound of a sword unsheathing behind him. "This is for the good of the country!" His mother's men were going to kill him.

' _Did she hate me?'_

Split-second flashes of memory behind his eyes. Little Wan-soo smiling. Wan-soo with a flower crown. Wan-soo handing him her pear. In all those moments, did Wan-soo hate him? Loathe him? Dream of his death like she did his mother's?

' _For so long, ever since I was little, Wan-soo has been all that mattered to me.'_

He cried out as a hand twisted into his hair and wrenched his head back. No mercy.

' _I've never asked for very much.'_

Kneeling there in the courtyard, he latched onto the arm of the man restraining him. Yonin's delirious eyes met Wan-soo's as she walked gracefully into the clearing. She didn't stop them. He could only sob as another soldier raised his sword high for the execution.

' _Just seeing her smile would have made me happy.'_

Like a crack of thunder, a gift from the gods, Hae appeared. With one powerful, sweeping slash, she knocked back the attackers. Cries of pain and surprise resonated through the courtyard. Many of the men clutched gaping wounds, another even stumbling back onto his comrade's spear. The one who had Yonin in his grasp reeled back with an unnaturally bent arm.

Hae's overcoat settled, and she stood resolutely in front of the prince. Her bangs obscured her eyes, and she propped the staff of her quandao on her shoulders and faced Wan-soo with a body poised for action.

"With Lady Wan-soo here tonight, I'd thought I should stay out of the way." Wisps of her short sable hair danced in the chilly wind. "But all the guards who are supposed to be on watch are _here_ , and I see some unfamiliar faces," she continued quietly. "What the hell is going on here? Explain this, Lady Wan-soo!"

"H-Hae," Yonin breathed, the word, her name, trembling in his throat.

Slowly, she turned and knelt to look the prince in his bedraggled face, her deep blue eyes so hard yet so sad. "I'm so sorry to have left your side, Prince Yonin."

"Hae," he choked, gaze beseeching, wavering hand curling into her sleeve. "Hae, are you on my side?" The question, his voice, quivered with distraught frailty. Will she try to kill him, too?

The shock softened on her features, and Hae hissed in a breath before she turned back around and faced their enemies, her quandao readied. "Her majesty told me to protect you. No matter what happens, you have my devotion and obedience."

"Halt, wretch," a sharp feminine voice declared from Wan-soo's side. It was the woman with the long black hair. "You are standing before Empress Wan-soo, the new mistress of Hiryuu Palace."

Hae's blue eyes snapped open wide before narrowing into a snarl. "Who's the new mistress of what now?" Her head lowered, shoulders hunching like a tiger's. "I'm getting a terrible feeling here, Lady Wan-soo. Where… is Empress Ila?"

A cold breeze sibilated through the leaves.

Wan-soo's countenance was that of the stone beneath their feet. "Just a few minutes ago, I sent her straight to hell."

A loud _crack!_ reverberated through the air. The pressure of the pommel of Hae's blade had shattered the slate of the walkway. "Did you have too much to drink?" Hae growled, "That's a sick excuse for a joke."

That piercing gaze was so disturbingly detached, as if she looked upon some loathsome stranger. "The prince will confirm it for you. He witnessed the empress' death with his own eyes."

Hae froze, heard Yonin whimper behind her. Muscles tensed, coiled, then Hae struck, her blade crashing down upon Wan-soo, who barely had enough time to parry what would have been a mortal blow.

"Tell me the truth!" Hae roared as she rained frenziedly down upon Wan-soo like no storm ever seen. Each strike was executed with what could have been nothing less than killing intent.

"I am," Wan-soo replied calmly, even in the face of such an assault, even as she admitted to murder, even as she admitted to the deepest betrayal.

"Wan-soo!" She bellowed, "Are you saying you _murdered_ her majesty?! You _killed_ that kind woman!?"

Wan-soo nimbly vaulted herself back as Hae gathered herself for another onslaught. A soldier set his hand upon the murderer's shoulder. "I'll handle this, Lady Wan-soo."

"Stay back," she ordered sternly, "If you get too close, she'll end you. The woman before you is an integral part of Hiryuu palace." Grim, Wan-soo assessed the adversary, her best friend, before her. "You're looking at Son Hae, one of the Five Generals."

A tumultuous murmur rose above the gathered troops.

" _Son_ Hae…"

"So _she's_ the 'Thunder Beast' of Kouka?"

"I… I can't believe this..."

Hae ignored the mumbles. "Why?" She hissed, blade readied. "Did you want power that badly?" Her fierce blue eyes narrowed. "No…" Briefly, so, so very briefly, thoughts of their childhood, their rose-tinted youth, surfaced. "No, it isn't power that interests you." Her features contorted with rage. "You turned your blade on a timid empress who loathed weapons! Have you no shame?!"

"This country…" Wan-soo raised her sword, the metal glinting hungrily in the moonlight. "... has no need for a timid empress."

Hae lunged, and steel gnashed together with a horrible clang and screech. Wan-soo was fast, but Hae faster, and the latter jabbed through the former's defenses. Wan-soo jolted back, teeth gritted and face pale, and one hand clutched the torn, bloodied fabric on her shoulder.

With fearful, disbelieving eyes, Yonin watched this battle to the death between his love and his childhood friend. It just couldn't be real.

Wan-soo recovered swiftly, and her composure lithified. Yonin weakly exclaimed as he was once again seized up by the hair and a blade pressed to his throat.

"Hold it!" His captor shouted to Hae.

Hae whirled upon hearing Yonin's distress, her defenses gaping open. The forces surrounding her took the opportunity to pin her in place, their speartips all pointed to her throat.

"Stop right there!"

Hae sneered and lowered her weapon, but kept her eyes glued to the prince. As long as that blade hovered so close to his pale, delicate neck, she wouldn't move a muscle.

"Are you alright, Lady Wan-soo?" A guard asked, concerned over the woman's wounded shoulder.

Hae's chin fell, her bangs falling back over her eyes. "Wan-soo… Was the woman I knew just a facade?" She asked quietly. "I thought that if there were one person with whom I could entrust his highness, it would be you."

Yonin stared dolorously at the woman he loved, the woman who killed his mother right before his eyes, the woman whose men now held him by his "wonderful" hair and pressed a blade to his throat. But she turned away from his gaze.

"The woman you knew never existed."

' _I don't want to hear this,'_ Yonin lamented internally, as only whimpers drew from his lips. It had all been lies.

"If anyone dares to get in my way, I will destroy them."

' _I don't want to hear this anymore.'_

"No matter who it is."

Her family, her friends, the one who loved her more than anyone else...

An arrow rammed itself into the ground just at a guard's feet. They jolted back from both of their captives, exclaiming, "An arrow! Who fired it?!"

Hae swooped down upon the distraction. She snatched up the prince, hefted him under her arm with surprising strength for such a short stature, and dashed off. She had to get him out of there.

"No!" the dark-haired woman shrieked. "Don't let them get away!"

Wan-soo staggered back, and another arrow struck just where she had been standing. The movement sent a shock of pain through her, and she hissed, clutching her shoulder.

"Lady Wan-soo, are you all right?"

She stared at the ground, crying amethyst eyes lingering in her mind.

* * *

Hae couldn't carry the prince for long. She set him to the ground and latched onto his wrist before she kept running.

"General Hae! General Hae!" A voice called, a young woman gesturing wildly with her arms. "This way, General Hae!"

"Did you fire that lousy shot, Min-soo?" Hae said, tugging Yonin along a path that hugged the inside of the stone wall surrounding the palace. "Her majesty is-"

"I know," Min-soo murmured, following close behind. "I overheard."

They crouched amongst a copse of trees, and Yonin sank to his knees.

"Your highness…" Min-soo began, "is her majesty truly dead?"

Brokenly, tears streaming down his face, the boy nodded.

Min-soo bowed her head. "I… I see. Forgive me for asking." Her lips pressed into a thin line, eyes shining wetly. "I just can't believe it. Only a few hours ago, she was so happy that it was your birthday…" The young attendant trailed off as the sound of guards hurrying just a few yards from them echoed through the night.

"Did you find them?"

"No, sir."

"Which way did they go?"

The voices faded with the stomping of feet.

Hae peeked between the branches of a bush. Thankfully, they were obscured by the shadows of these trees, but… "It's only a matter of time before they find us."

Min-soo stared fixedly at the general, and her face hardened. "I'll secure an escape route. You two need to get out of this place."

Hae exhaled roughly. "It looks like the soldiers Wan-soo commands are gathering here at Hiryuu Palace. If they capture us, we're as good as dead."

"Where…" Yonin whimpered, and the two woman turned to him in surprise. "Where will we go?" He was leaning, slack, against the damp trunk of a tree, crying eyes staring despondently into the darkness. "I… During the party… My mother was crying tears of joy. But I n-never got to thank her for it. For anything." He looked down to his pale hands, where blood was still pressed into the ridges of his palms. "This is my mother's palace. If we leave her here, where will we go?" His words were thickened by the lump in his throat. "Where _can_ we go?"

Hae lurched forward, tugging the prince to her, embracing him, her chin digging hard into his shoulder. "We'll go anywhere we have to if it means keeping you alive." Her steely gaze pierced into the shadows. She'd die before she'd let Ila down again. "That's how we can honor her majesty's memory." She pulled back and nudged him closer to the bushes.

Min-soo pointed out to the courtyard ahead of them. "There. That back gate will lead you to the mountains."

"Right."

They ducked down lower as more soldiers dashed by. "Did you find them?" One barked.

"Oh!" Min-soo gasped. "Prince Yonin, let me borrow your overcoat."

Yonin mindlessly took it off and handed it over, but he quickly grabbed the young woman's wrist as she stood up. "Min-soo!"

She smiled down at him. "Please stay safe, your highness."

Then, she broke from the prince's hold and dashed off, the prince's overcoat held over her head.

"There he is!" The guards at the gate chased after their target, and Hae yanked Yonin up to dash through the threshold.

The gate began to swing shut behind them, but Yonin still looked back as he staggered after his bodyguard. The waning gap let him watch as an arrow pierced into Min-soo's retreating back right before she fell to the ground. Yonin gasped, but Hae never looked back as she led the prince into the unforgiving night.

 **CHAPTER TWO END**


	3. Chapter 3: Hidden Strength

**Chapter Three: Hidden Strength**

Yonin stumbled over a tree root and just barely managed to catch himself before he fell completely.

"Prince."

He leaned against a tree and tried to catch his breath. The darkness of night remained heavily over the forest. Somewhere, an owl hooted, and the silver moonlight streamed in through the tall trees.

"Prince Yonin," Hae tentatively called again.

Battered, bruised, and bloodied, Yonin slowly slid to his knees. His hair hung, disheveled, in his face, and shis shoulders slumped.

"Let's rest here a bit, okay?' Hae murmured gently, firmly touching the young man's shoulder before withdrawing.

Yonin sat back against the trunk and stared up at the dimly glowing sky that peeked from behind shadowed leaves. "Hae?"

She hummed in response, carefully eyeing the prince.

"I-Is Min-soo dead?" He asked, dead violet eyes staring hazily at her. "Am I going to die? And you, too?" Is Wan-soo…" His head thumped back against the bark. "... going to kill us?"

Hae sat on a tree root, one that bulged out from an incline and made the perfect seat. "There's no way I'll let that piece of trash bitch take my life." _'Or yours, for that matter.'_

His swollen eyelids drooped heavily. "Don't you dare die…" HIs body slumped further as it continued to go slack with exhaustion. "... Hae. If you do…" She watched as his eyes slid shut. "I'll never… ever… forgive you…" And there, sitting against that tree, he drifted off into sleep.

Hae glanced off, her trembling hand curling into a fist. "I still can't believe it."

Empress Ila was dead. Gone. Murdered.

The bone in her jaw stood out as it tightened. "What a sorry excuse for an empress, leaving the prince to fend for himself like this."

With dirt and blood and dried sweat caked on his face, Yonin seemed so strangely peaceful in his slumber.

' _I've been by his side for a long time.'_

She looked to his hands. They were filthy, scraped up.

' _He's never had to deal with being dirty or being in pain.'_

"Tell me, your majesty, what should I do now?" She asked, looking up through the tall, tall trees at the starry sky.

' _It feels so long ago. Actually, it feels like it was just yesterday…'_

* * *

" _Hae!"_

 _She sluggishly blinked an eye open._

" _Hey, you brat!"_

" _Hmm…?" She hummed, propping herself up on one hand, the feathers that dangled from her braided headband brushing her cheeks._

 _A scarred face glared down at her. "Useless twerp." It was the one-eyed Son Mon-yeong, Wind Tribe chieftess. "The Five Tribes had a meeting today. I wanted you there to help represent the Wind Tribe," she grumbled in her annoying old lady voice._

 _Hae pulled a fruit from her pocket and nonchalantly bit into it. When she was done chewing, she said, "You're the chieftess of the Wind Tribe_ and _one of the Five Generals, Lady Mon-yeong. You're all the representation we need._ And _I came to the palace with you, didn't I? Isn't that good enough?" The elder blinked down with her one good eye as Hae slowly rose to her feet. "Also, Empress Ila is too bubbly. I can't stand talking to her."_

 _Finally, the old lady exploded. "You idiot! What's with this 'Lady Mon-yeong garbage!?" she shrieked. "Call me 'Grandma!'"_

"That's _your problem?!" Hae exclaimed, bristling, throwing her arms up, "We're not even blood relatives!"_

 _Mon-yeong knocked her adoptive granddaughter upside the head, which was answered with a growl and a kick from Hae. "Blood means nothing compared to the power of love!"_

 _Hae stuck out her tongue, "Blech!" and the chieftess slapped her cheek._

" _Now, now," a cheerful voice chided. Empress Ila stood before them, tittering fondly with her hands folded daintily into her sleeves. "If General Mon-yeong and her_ heir _start fighting, it could leave Hiryuu Palace in ruins."_

 _Mon-yeong abruptly fell to her knees and prostrated herself. "Your majesty, I apologize!"_

 _Hae smiled stiffly, sheepishly._ 'Aw, crap. And I just called her "bubbly" out loud, too.'

" _There's no need to bow," Ila cooed, gesturing for the venerable general to stand. She approached Hae, and her dark, warm eyes glimmered affectionately. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Hae? I'm sad that you don't visit the palace as often as you used to, dear."_

 _The teen rubbed the back of her head. "A commoner like me shouldn't wander in too freely."_

 _Ila laughed, a bright, bell-like sound._

'Bubbly.'

" _Don't worry about that! Yonin gets lonely when you're not around."_

 _Yonin? Wanting to spend time with Hae?_

" _Ha ha ha, you bubbly little liar," Hae lilted._

 _Ila froze mid-grin. "Bubbly?"_

 _Mon-yeong's fan came down so hard upon Hae that it smashed her to the ground. "How dare you speak that way to your empress! Even if it's accurate, you must show respect!" the chieftess yowled. "You insolent fool! You are no longer my granddaughter!"_

" _We aren't related anyway!" Hae snapped back, rolling from her grandmother's reach before standing back up. She gingerly touched her throbbing head._

" _You mustn't be so violent, Mon-yeong," Ila admonished._

 _The elder collapsed into a bow. "I apologize!"_

 _Ila turned back to the teen. "I appreciate that Hae speaks her mind. Would you like a steamed bun, my dear?" Ila offered, procuring said bun from a satchel in her sash._

 _Which reminded Hae…_

 _She quickly looked around. Nope. Her piece of fruit was lost forever in her battle with the old hag._

 _The empress tittered when the girl graciously accepted the snack. "What would you think of staying here as Yonin's guard?"_

 _A sigh heaved out of Hae's lungs. "Your majesty…" The clear blue of her irises met the empress in a wry grin. "Dealing with the nobility exhausts me. If I move into the palace_ and _become a general, I can't relax at home and nap when I want." She turned away._

" _Hae…" the empress began, dainty hand reaching after her._

" _You dislike weapons, right, your majesty?" She shot a glance over her shoulder as she walked away, feathers brushing her cheeks. "So, you should find one of those rare people who can protect others_ without _the use of a weapon."_

" _Hae!" the dismayed cry echoed after her._

 _But she ignored it and ambled away._ 'To be honest, I don't want anything to do with the royal family or the nobility.' _As she walked, two court gentlemen bickered loudly, obviously upset with one another._ 'I can't stand all the backstabbing and the spying.' _A pebble went skittering across the slate when she kicked it._ 'And I don't sense any danger from her majesty.' _She chortled to herself. That bubbly woman didn't pose a threat to anyone. "Bubbly really is the word, too."_

'And besides…'

" _Hae!" a voice called. A familiar voice that made all of her nerves tense up immediately._

'There's another reason I don't want to stay in the palace.'

 _Yonin frantically dashed up. His brilliant red hair positively_ gleamed _in the light of the sun. He quickly ducked behind her, his long fingers curling into the back of her formal shirt that Mon-yeong had forced her to wear. "Hide me!" He squeaked._

 _A knot formed between Hae's eyebrows. At thirteen, Yonin had caught up to her in height. In fact, Hae, at fifteen, was just barely shorter than the prince now. Someone of her stature simply_ couldn't _"hide" him. But his fiercely blushing cheeks made her condescending remarks die in her throat._

'Whenever I'm near his highness, he throws me off balance.'

" _Prince Yonin!" Someone shrilled. It came from one of the walkways. A tall girl with smoky blonde hair and Fire Tribe garb ambled about, her hands cupped around her mouth. "Your highness, where are you?"_

 _Hae was wrong. She apparently made a good visual shield, since the girl kept walking._

'That's the daughter of the Fire Tribe's chieftess,' _Hae thought bemusedly before she turned and met Yonin's apprehensive eyes. What did he do? With a scowl, Hae deadpanned, "If you're going to prank someone, don't get caught so easily, Prince Yonin."_

" _It's not like that!" he snapped. "I haven't seen you in ages and that's all you have to say?!"_

 _She scoffed and put her hands on her waist. "Well, what else am I supposed to think? What would she want with_ you?! _And_ you _aren't much better!" This prince seriously aggravated her. She would become old and gray like Mon-yeong in no time if she had to deal with_ this _on a daily basis._

 _Yonin snatched her wrist. "I don't want to talk about it here. Let's go somewhere else."_

 _Blinking, Hae mindlessly allowed the prince to drag her to a more secluded section of the courtyard. When the prince released her, she rubbed her wrist. He certainly hadn't hurt her, but his touch lingered beneath her skin in an incredibly annoying way. "Now, what is it you wanted to tell me?"_

 _Yonin pouted and fiddled with his hands. He mumbled his next words, but Hae still caught them, even if she couldn't believe her ears._

" _She's_ making advances _toward you?!" Hae squawked._

 _Yonin nodded curtly._

 _Laughter thundered from her, and she slapped her knee dramatically. Her eyes even watered._

" _It's true! Stop laughing or I'm going to strangle you!" He huffed and crossed his arms. "Everytime Kan Tae-jee comes to the palace, she gives me gifts and asks me to join her outside." His scowl deepened. "She's always saying things like 'You're lovely like a flower!' or 'Your eyes pierce my heart like an arrow!' and other stuff that makes me really uncomfortable._

 _Now, Hae was genuinely reflecting over Yonin's issue._ 'Empress Ila doesn't have a daughter, no direct heir, so Tae-jee's trying to win the prince's heart so she can take the throne. Even if the prince is only thirteen.' _Which meant more persistence than if Tae-jee was genuinely in love with the prince. Stupid power-hungry nobles._

" _She's so pushy!" Yonin whined._

 _Full-frontal rejection might still work, though. Hae shrugged, her response flippant and teasing, "So why not tell her…" she lowered her voice melodramatically to mock Yonin, "... 'Sorry, but a certain young woman named Wan-soo has my heart already.'"_

 _Red swallowed his cheeks, and he looked down at his twiddling hands. Hae watched with an outwardly dull expression._ 'That's what I thought.'

" _But Wan-soo doesn't feel that way."_

 _The dregs of frustration were building up into something stronger._ ' _This_ is why I hate coming here.'

" _And if I say that, she'll find out about it!"_

" _Not my problem," Hae muttered facetiously._

 _Yonin huffed, whining and pleading, "Stop being so annoyed with me.'_

 _With a hand on her hip, she began to turn away. "In that case, I guess you'll need to just make peace with Lady Kan Tae-jee. Sometimes you have to listen to other people."_

 _Although Hae couldn't see his face, she could_ hear _the prince's pout. "You're so cold, Hae," he muttered to the girl's retreating back. "Wan-soo would never say anything like that!"_

 _The frustration and annoyance and hurt coiled up and sprang from Hae's throat. "If that's how you feel, then go crying to_ her _when you want someone to protect you!"_

 _She disregarded those wide purple eyes and stomped away._

* * *

 _The sky was happy and blue and the clouds were fluffy and white and it all just irritated Hae even more as she stared at them. Head propped on her hand and facing the patio door, she laid on the floor of the room she and Mon-yeong were staying in. She could only glare out at all the stupid green trees and smelly flowers._

" _Ugh, I want to get back to the Wind Tribe soon, General Mon-yeong," she groused._

 _The old hag glanced over her shoulder. "What's got you in such a bad mood? And call me 'Grandma.'"_

" _I'm not in a bad mood!" the teenager hissed._

 _Mon-yeong huffed, "You absolutely are."_

 _A slight knock drew her attention to where a young redhead was peeking over the edge of the deck._

 _Hae bolted up into a sitting position. "Prince Yonin! What brings you here?"_

 _With a couple of grunts, he managed to pull himself over the edge. He had turned one front flap of his kimono into a pouch, and when he released the hem, a variety of fruit bounced out to Hae's feet._

" _I'm sorry about earlier," he said quietly, amethyst eyes downcast._

 _Hae blinked in shock. Yonin hardly ever apologized, much less to Hae._

" _You must've been mad at houw spineless I was acting." His lips firmed into a resolute line. "I'm the prince of Kouka, and I have my honor! I've got to stop whining and_ do _something about my problems!" Before she could respond, he was already turning away and hopping off the deck. "Bye."_

" _Hey!" Hae automatically reached out to grab him, but it was too late._

 _Yonin's pale hand poked over the deck and pointed at the fruits. "Those are for you. They're a peace offering."_

 _A red apple gleamed in the sun, and it was firm in Hae's palm. It was so lovely a scarlet, but not quite like the prince's blazing hair. Yonin was a clever boy to bribe Hae with food. He knew her too well, even if he didn't know her well enough._

 _Chest and cheeks warm, Hae bit into the apple._ ' _This_ is why I don't want to deal with his highness…"

* * *

 _Later that evening, Hae was sitting against the fence. She was on the grassy side, out of sight from the raised walkway behind her. She wanted somewhere quiet to think, away from that chatty old hag. This area was peaceful enough, until two female attendants walked by._

" _How was her majesty at the tribal meeting?" the first asked._

 _Hae's interest was instantly piqued._

 _The second sighed resignedly. "Oh, she just did everything the chieftesses told her to do, as usual."_

 _A disapproving sound, one made in the throat, came from the first. "I heard the Fire Tribe's buying up weapons from neighboring countries._ Without _her majesty's approval."_

" _At this rate, the tribes are going to keep gaining power at her expense."_

" _Should we really entrust our country to such a coward?"_

'They've got tons of complaints. Not really surprising with an empress like that. She's a nice lady, though.'

 _From where she sat, she could catch small glimpses of a royal flag - embellished with a dragon - flapping in the breeze._ 'When I succeed Grandma and become a general, I'll become a lackey for the royal family.' _Which, generally, wasn't a pleasant thought. Hae didn't want to be_ anyone's _lackey._

"What would you think of being Yonin's guard?" _the empress had asked._

 _Hae stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes, a soft smile gracing her lips. "You shouldn't worry about me, your majesty," she murmured to herself, "I'm-"_

" _I said no!" Hae recognized that fiery, whiny tone._ 'It's the prince.' _She quickly ducked down again, hidden by the fence, and glimpsed through to see Tae-jee and Yonin. "I'm not going to the imperial villa with you," the prince declared, face brighter than his hair._

'Kan Tae-jee must be making advances again. Yonin's face is so red. He's really trying hard.'

" _Now, now," the girl chided. "Don't play hard to get." With a sickly sweet smile on her face, Tae-jee latched onto his wrist and began to tug him away. "I hear the imperial villa has a marvelous flower garden. Won't you show it to me?"_

 _Yonin attempted to yank himself away, but his body was stick thin, and Tae-jee had moderately-adequate physical training. "Let go of me!"_

" _Tch," Hae hissed, feeling a vein in her face throb in irritation._ 'What a pain. I wish Wan-soo were here.' _Then she pictured her best friend's innocent face and changed her mind._ 'Actually, no. When it comes to love and stuff, she's no help. She's too easygoing.'

 _Hae could just_ hear _her saying_ "Wow, you two will have so much fun! See you later, Yonin!"

'She's always been like that. I bet it's hard on his highness.' _Pining over someone who hadn't a clue in the world…_

 _How relatable._

 _The commotion quickly caught her attention again. Tae-jee pulled Yonin against her, one of his arms pinned uselessly between them and the other held in a tight grip. Speech seemed to escape the flustered prince as he tried to struggle from her clutches. The disturbance also caught the attention of a pair of guards, if their mummering to each other were any indication. "It doesn't look like his majesty is enjoying that."_

'What gave it away? The struggling? The "Let go of me!"' _Hae sneered sarcastically in her thoughts._

" _Someone should stop her."_

" _But… That's General Kan's daughter. We don't want to wind up with the general mad at us."_

" _Let's get the empress." And the two hurried away._

'The nobility are aggravating as always!' _Blue eyes rolled, and she sank back down to lean against the deck._ 'I'm not getting involved. It's not my problem,' _she decided, closing her eyes and tipping her head back._ 'I'm ignoring this… If I don't… I'll… just keep on…'

"Sorry about earlier." _Purple blue eyes stared earnestly. Retreating red hair._ "It's a peace offering."

" _You really are adorable, aren't you, Prince?" Tae-jee simpered, leaning down into her captive's face. "When you resist with the strength of a kitten, it makes me want to touch you more."_

" _No, I want you to stop!" Yonin cried, wanting so badly to kick her but fearing retribution._

 _Both were too busy to notice the raven-haired girl nimbly hopping over the fence._

" _I think that's quite enough." Hae tugged Yonin back, sidled herself between them, and firmly pulled the other girl's hand away from his wrist. "Lady Kan Tae-jee." Her arm slipped under Yonin's and around his back in a half embrace._

" _Hae-!" He started, hand gripping her shoulder in surprise but relief plainly written on his face._

 _Tae-jee was aghast. "W-Who are you? The_ insolence _! Don't touch his highness so freely!"_

" _I can say the same to you," Hae replied. She snuggled up close to the boy in question, her other hand splaying on his chest, her cheek nuzzling into his throat, and her sharp blue eyes glaring from beneath his chin. "Who said you can touch_ my _prince?"_

 _Tae-bllinked._ ' _Her_ prince?'

 _Yonin stiffened._ ' _Whose_ prince?'

 _The Fire Tribe noble shook herself from her stupor. "Y-You have no right to speak of him that way, brat!"_

" _Oh, don't I?" Hae tilted her head up, her nose brushing along his jawline. He smelled_ really _good and it was honestly kind of distracting. "When we were little, he and I vowed to spend our lives together. Right, your highness?"_

" _Huh? What?" The boy fumbled; the situation put him at a loss of words. And thoughts, it seemed._

 _Hae pulled back to look him in the eyes, her gaze clearly saying_ 'Follow my lead, will you?' _as she tenderly cupped his warm cheeks. "What's wrong, your highness? There's no need to be shy."_

 _Uncomfortable laughs poured from him as he squirmed, his own gaze reading_ 'I'll never forgive you for this.' _"Ha ha ha, n-not where other people can see…!"_

" _E-Eh," Tae-jee grunted awkwardly to gain their attention. "Is it true? Do you have feelings for her, your highness?"_

 _Yonin never did well when put on the spot. "Um, well - uh," he cleared his throat. "Yes." Suddenly, their embrace tightened, mostly on Yonin's part, one of his hands moving to her hair to cradle her head to his shoulder. "I love her dearly."_

 _From where her cheek laid against the fabric of his kimono, Hae stared with wide eyes. A big knot of warmth and happiness lodged itself in her throat. Those words felt good. Really good. Even if they weren't true. Hand over her mouth, she looked away from the two as pink dusted her cheeks._

 _As Hae suspected, flat-out rejection did not wear at Tae-jee's persistence. "I can't accept that!" she spat, obviously ruffled and petulant, like a child whose toy was taken away. "Even if that's true, I can't stand for the prince to share his life with the likes of you! I am Kan Tae-jee, the second daughter of General Kan - chieftess of the Fire Tribe!" She jabbed a long, rather delicate and soft finger at the other girl. "And who are you?"_

 _Hae faced Tae-jee fully, though she kept Yonin's arm around her waist. "Me? I'm Son Hae, next general and chieftess of the Wind Tribe." The smug statement of how she was actually of higher station than Tae-jee burned on her tongue, but she bit it back. "The empress has_ personally _appointed me to be Yonin's guard." She did, however, let a smirk curl her lips. "Got a problem with that?"_

 _Tae-jee snarled, leaning forward into a fighting stance and left hand reaching for the pommel of her sheathed sword. "If that's the case, then I demand…" The blade hissed from its scabbard. "... that you prove your worth."_

 _A hand shot out, grabbing onto the half-drawn blade in a vice-like grip._

 _It was the empress._

" _Your majesty!" Tae-jee squawked, horrified to be caught in such a manner by such a person._

 _Hand still gripping the steel of the weapon, Ila smiled softly. "You mustn't do that."_

" _I'm sorry!" The girl blurted, sheathing her sword and not seeing the blood staining the metal._

" _It's all right."_

 _After a swift bow, Tae-jee rushed off._

 _That bubbly, doughy face beamed at Hae. "I didn't realize you two had that sort of relationship."_

 _Yonin sprang away from Hae as if she were plagued. Harsh. "M-Mother! It's not what you think!"_

" _Well, since you spoke up, she probably won't come around anymore._ Ugh, _what a pain," Hae grumbled, trying to lie to herself about how much she actually enjoyed being so close to the prince._

" _Stop talking, Hae," said prince hissed._

 _A chuckle left the empress at the banter. "Hae, have you come around to being Yonin's guard? I knew I could count on you."_

" _My services don't come cheap," Hae replied, though she respectfully knelt before the empress._

" _I'm entrusting my son to you," Ila said, solemn, "Please protect him."_

* * *

' _I can't abandon him. And…'_ To this day, Hae remembered how the empress turned around, hands clasped behind her back. As she walked away, blood oozed from between her fingers to drip onto the walkway. _'It turned out our empress wasn't a coward after all.'_

Though it was still night, Yonin had been resting a long time. Good, he needed it.

The moon was beginning its descent, but it still peeked from behind the wispy clouds. Hae watched it quietly, the moonlight washing her blue eyes silver.

' _Empress Ila, are you still watching over us from somewhere?'_

A quiet whimper drew her attention back to the prince. His expression was troubled, and a tear rolled down his dirty cheek.

' _I will protect the son you left behind.'_

She tenderly wiped the drop away.

' _And someday, we_ will _return to your palace.'_

 **CHAPTER 3 END**


	4. Chapter 4: Distant Skies

**Draconicmaw sighs. "I've been forgetting a disclaimer this whole time. I do not own, nor make any material profit off of, Akatsuki no Yona. Also, this chapter is mostly a memory inside of a dream, so forgive the patchy dream logic."**

 **Chapter Four: Distant Skies**

 _Tears leaked through shaking fingers and dripped onto the ground. Yonin watched, his own cheeks wet._ 'Please don't cry, Mother. Father's gone, but I'm still here. You're not alone, and..'

 _Hands linked, together, he was dragged outside._

'I have Wan-soo with me.'

" _Yonin!" she called, spreading out her arms and twirling. "Look, it's snowing!"_

" _Uh-huh," he hummed back._

 _She stamped away, feet crunching in the snow. Yonin just looked at the fat flakes floating down from the sky._

Tmp tmp tmp…

" _I brought you a dumpling!" Wan-soo chirped._

 _Yonin stared._

 _She stamped off again. She came back with a paile of snow that had some twigs sticking out of it. "Look at the weird snow animal I made!"_

 _Yonin stared._

" _Yonin…?"_

" _Oh!" he gasped, eyes blinking and wide. "I'm fine." He grinned wildly and hopped up and down."I need to stay cheerful so Mother doesn't cry." Snow kicked up when he whirled and made to frolick-_

" _Guh!"_

 _\- and his foot landed on something that certainly didn't feel or sound like snow. He looked down._

 _A dark-haired little girl laid on the ground, the snow pillowing around her, with Yonin's shoe firmly planted on her chest. "You're heavy," she grunted._

" _Hae?!" he squawked, springing back._

" _Yay, it's Hae!" the blonde cheered._

 _Haae glowered at the two. "Keep away from me. And watch where you put your big feet, your highness. I was in such a good mood, too."_

 _He huffed, his breath steaming in the cold air. "Why are you lying down there?"_

 _The snow clumped and piled with the slow motions of Hae's arms. "I'm making it so that everyone who passes by knows I was here. I exist." Then she shrugged, white clinging to her shoulders. "And wanting to relax in fresh white snow is only natural."_

 _Hands over her cheeks, Wan-soo gaped down at the other girl in awe. "That's so cool, Hae!"_

Pomf!

 _A ball of fresh white snow smashed into Hae's smug face._

 _A couple feet away now, Yonin mashed up more cold, cold fluff in his hands with a devious grin. "And it makes you the perfect target for snowballs."_

 _Hae bolted up, sneering, snow falling from her face. "Oh?" She lunged, throwing her own handful right at Yonin's head. "Graaah!"_

 _Yonin ducked back and pelted Hae with big globs of white, his wild red hair swaying and fanning with each motion._

" _That's amazing, Hae!" Wan-soo exclaimed, "You cheered Yonin right up! Thank goodness. Now, let me play!" She got a snowball right to the face._

* * *

 _The next day, Yonin laid in bed. Each breath was a hot puff, and his cheeks were flushed with fever, which the rag on his head didn't seem to be stopping._

 _Wan-soo wept. "Yonin isn't feeling good anymore…"_

 _Both she and Hae were kneeling at the side of his futon. "Playing in the snow was too much for him."_

 _Wan-soo sloppily brushed her sleeves against her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Yonin."_

 _The nurse, who had just applied the wet rag, shook his head at the children's antics. "He'll be fine as longs as he takes his medicine and rests."_

 _A frail, hoarse voice rose quietly from the little boy, "Um…" He blinked tiredly. "Where's my mother?"_

 _A certain stiffness captured the nurse's smile. "Her majesty is extremely busy. She only recently ascended to the throne, remember?" He patted Yonin's sweaty cheek. "But I'm sure she'll visit when she can."_

 _Yonin's expression crumbled even more._

" _Don't worry, Yonin!" Wan-soo piped up._

" _Yeah, when she hears how sick you are, she'll come running to see you," Hae added._

 _They drew the attention of the nurse. "And_ you _two can leave now. You shouldn't get too close to the prince."_

" _We'll be fine! We're strong and healthy! In fact, I'm warm all over!" Wan-soo assuaged with a smile, though her face was taking on a suspicious red tint._

 _Hae's eyes began to roll about deliriously. "I think I played too much. I'm still seeing snow balls." The two girls slowly wilted and slumped together._

" _Nurse! You have more patients!" Yonin cried._

 _All three caught a cold, and they laid side-by-side in futons, Wan-soo, Yonin, and then Hae. "That explains why I thought snowballs were flying around me…" Hae muttered._

" _Shouldn't you two head home?" Yonin asked, blearily gazing up at the ceiling of the infirmary._

" _It's better if we recover here so we don't get anyone else sick. Also, the nurse here is great." Wan-soo shrugged and rolled over to face the others. "Anyway, lately I've been holding Yonin's hand while we sleep, so this is just like normal." The prince's fever-warm cheeks turned even redder, and he pulled the covers up to his nose._

" _You do what?" Hae snatched the cold compress off of her forehead and sat up. "I think I should leave. I'm in the way."_

" _What?! But we should_ all _hold hands!"_

" _You can't be serious," Hae grumbled back. Caught up in conversation, they didn't hear the angry stomps down the hallway. The door slammed open._

"HAE!"

" _Aagh!" the dark-haired little girl squawked at the sight of an enraged, one-eyed old lady. "Grandma!?"_

 _The gray-haired old woman stood imposingly over the girl, the aura hanging about her shoulders dark. "You brat! I heard his highness fell ill because you were throwing snowballs at him!"_

 _Hae chuckled nervously. "If there's snow, it's protocol to throw it at people. You make it sound like I cursed him or something."_

 _The words did not sooth her grandmother's ire. "You whippersnapper! Get ready for a whooping!"_

 _Hae desperately tried crawling away. "Nooo! Not that!"_

" _General!" the nurse snapped reproachfully, "Please stop! They are sick and need their rest!" Shoulders hunched at being scolded, Grandma slunk out of the infirmary._

" _I think I_ have _to stay here," Hae whispered, burrowing back under the covers. "If I go home, she'll kill me."_

" _Was that General Mon-yeong, chieftess of the Wind Tribe?" Wan-soo gasped, starstruck._

" _Yup."_

" _She's so cool! I've never been so close to her before. Everyone says she's the strongest of the five generals. She's my hero!" She giggled. "I didn't know she was your grandmother!"_

" _I'm an orphan," Hae explained, fairly bland despite the sad statement, "so Grandma and I aren't actually related. She adopted me into the Wind Tribe and her family."_

" _Oh, I see."_

" _But…" Yonin cut in, quiet and raspy, "Mon-yeong still came to see you." He weakly turned his head to look at Hae, a small smile on his flushed face. "She must really love you, huh?"_

 _Hae rolled her shoulders. "I guess." This time, they all heard the lighter, slower footsteps that echoed from the hallway. "Someone else is coming."_

 _The door opened again, and a tall figure strode through. She had narrow black eyes; stern, thin eyebrows; downturned lips; and long black hair bound in a warrior's bun. The hard set of her expression and the slight furrowing of her brow gave her an intimidating appearance. Yonin tugged the blanket up to his nose again. Even her smooth, blunt grace was scary._

" _M-Mother!" Wan-soo cried before coughing raggedly. When she regained her breath, she eagerly looked back up. "What are you doing here?"_

 _The woman knelt next to her daughter's bed, her expression still blank and hard. "Is it strange for me to visit my daughter when she's sick?"_

 _The little blonde lifted the blanket up to her mouth and blushed. "But what if you get sick from being near me?"_

 _The woman smirked, and one of her eyebrows winged up. "Do you think I'd let some paltry illness defeat me?"_

" _O-of course not! But I heard you're very busy right now…"_

 _Yonin rolled onto his side, the rag on his forehead falling off as he buried his face in his pillow._ 'Aunt Yuon.. she's so tough and stern. She's nothing like Wan-soo.' _Soft and sweet Wan-soo._

" _Ye-jun was determined to come, too," Yuon continued._

" _Father?!" Wan-soo echoed, concerned and surprised._

" _But in his condition, it would be dangerous for him to fall ill, so I made him stay home."_

" _Whew…"_

" _You mustn't make your father worry. I want you to_ slaughter _that sickness as soon as possible."_

" _I will!" Wan-soo chirped._

'Slaughter?'

" _As for you two…" Hae and Yonin ducked beneath their covers. "I'll send some get-well gifts later."_

 _The door slid shut behind her, and Hae shuddered. "Heh. She's always so intense. I get chills just being near her."_

 _Yonin's pale fingers curled around the edge of his blanket. "I was… so scared…"_

 _Wan-soo flopped back with a contented sigh and a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "What a wonderful day!" She giggled. "I'll definitely do my best to slaughter this sickness! Take that, and that!"_

" _Go to sleep, idiot," Hae grumbled._

 _The little redhead between the two stared up at the ceiling with wide, sad purple eyes._ 'Mother, it hurts so much, Mother.' _He curled onto his side, his arms wrapping around himself._ 'Why won't you visit me? Don't leave me alone. Don't abandon me.'

* * *

 _All three had small trays laid out before them. Each covered in food, but Yonin's remained untouched._

" _Just have one bite, please, Prince?"_

" _I don't want any," he murmured._

" _You need to eat a little, Yonin," Wan-soo urged._

" _If you don't, you'll get even uglier, your highness," Hae chided, trying to appeal to Yonin's vanity or insite his ire._

 _But he didn't reply, and a thick silence fell over the three._

 _Out in the hallway, a female voice asked quietly, though not quietly enough, "Her majesty hasn't come to visit him?"_

" _No," the nurse replied, "I informed her about his highness, but…"_

" _How typical of her," the woman scoffed. "I'll bet she doesn't want to go near her son becuase she's scared to fall ill."_

 _Tears collecting on his lashes, Yonin stared down at the food. Was it true? Was Mother avoiding him on purpose?_

"Be quiet _!" Wan-soo snapped._

 _Purple eyes turned to her in surprise. In the hallway, the only sounds were that of feet rushing away._

" _Your mother is the_ empress _," Hae said quietly. "She's doing her job even at a time like this." Her husband dead, her son ill. "I admire that."_

 _Wan-soo nodded and rubbed her aching throat. Yonin wiped his tears away and smiled. "Yeah."_

'I'm sorry.'

" _Let's sleep close together tonight!" the little blonde exclaimed._

" _Don't get near me! I'll get sick!" the other girl hissed._

" _But you're already sick."_

'I'm sorry for thinking I was all alone.'

* * *

 _The candlelight flickered and casted dancing shadows on the walls. Yonin watched them silently, blanket pulled up to his nose. A hollow ache crouched in his belly, and it was building -_

GroOoOwl…

 _Wan-soo sat up quickly. "Oh! Are you hungry, Yonin?" She turned to her other side. A shiny little bell dangled from her fingertips. "I'll call for some food."_

" _That was a loud growl. It woke me up," Hae muttered into her pillow. A fist knocked into the back of her head. "Ow!"_

 _Eventually, an attendant came in, a tray with a steaming bowl balanced in her hands. The vapor wafted up the the prince's nose as the tray was set before him._ 'Chicken and porridge! My favorite!' _He eagerly scooped some up on his wooden spoon and puffed some air to cool it down. When it was at an acceptable temperature, he placed it in his mouth. It made his tongue curl… with disgust. "It's awful," he choked. "Unless the cold is messing with my taste buds, it's horrible."_

 _Someone at the door tittered. A formal cap and bubbly smile._

" _Mother!?" Yonin cried, perking up instantly._

" _I made it for you," the empress said sheepishly._

" _What are you doing here?" Yonin asked. Like Hae said, wasn't she busy?_

" _I was worried, so I came to check up on you. The nurse told me you didn't eat, so I wanted to cook your favorite dish to make up for not visiting sooner." Her son stared down at the bowl in awe. "I followed the recipe as best I could. I'm sorry that it didn't turn out." Spoonful after spoonful, the prince shoved the porridge into his mouth. Ila blinked. "Hmm? I thought it tasted bad."_

 _A cheerful smile and happy tears. "It's really terrible."_

 _Hae and wan-soo exchanged small grins._

* * *

 _They could finally get some fresh air. Hae stretched dramatically. "Ahhh!"_

 _A sigh left the prince's healthy lungs. "I'm all better now."_

 _The three best friends sat on the top of a giant staircase leading up to Hiryuu Palace._

" _You sound disappointed, your highness," Hae teased, nudging him with her shoulder._

" _Not really," he replied primly._

 _Wan-soo leaned back to gaze up at the sky. "I'm disappointed."_

 _The raven-haired girl snorted. "Because you can't sleep next to his highness anymore?"_

" _I can sleep next to him anytime I want."_

" _What?!" Yonin gasped, face hot, and not with fever._

 _Wan-soo's face was angelically serene, the blue of the sky reflecting in her green eyes. "I wish we could all sleep next to each other forever and ever, even if it meant having that cold." Slowly, the three children were leaning back into one another and supporting each other's weight._

" _You know…" Hae started, propping her wrist on one bent knee, "We don't have to be sick. Staying together is pretty simple."_

 _Yonin smiled at the fluffy white clouds and the warmth of his friends' bodies. "Wan-soo, Hae, let's play again tomorrow."_

'Let's play forever and ever _…'_ _The, black rushed in like a wave that swallowed the sky._ 'Huh?' _It washed it all away, and then Yonin was all by himself. "Where did they go?" He looked around at the blank landscape. "Oh!" A familiar robed figure stood in front of him. "Mother!" His small hand curled into the back of her clothes, and swe swayed backwards. Suddenly, Yonin was taller than her, and she fell into his arms, her dead weight bringing him to his knees. Blood. She was drenched in blood. "_ Mother… _"_

 _Dread chilled his veins, and he slowly looked up to the dark silhouette looming over him. Green eyes, eyes no longer reflecting a deep blue sky, green eyes that enclosed Yonin in darkness, leered back._

" _W-Wan-soo…?"_

 _A tainted sword rose above his head._

* * *

Yonin jolted awake with a lung-wrenching gasp. The bark of a tree was rough on his cold, aching, heaving back. Cold sweat caked his body and made him tremble. His eyes darted all around, to the dark night sky, to the black shadows hanging thick between branches, and he waited for the strike, though he knew it was only a dream. Trembling, his aching body leaned forward. Where was Hae? He quickly looked around the trunk of the tree. All that stood behind it was silver-dappled forest. He jolted up, pacing, eyes darting all around.

Leaves rustled close by, and he flinched down, whirling, body tensed, heart roaring in his ears.

Hae blinked at him, surprised. Tucked under one arm was a bundle of sticks, in the other hand her bamboo canteen. "You're awake? Sorry. I was getting some water to drink."

The silver moonlight reflected off of the sweat gleaming on the prince's face and the moisture pooling in his eyes. Hae watched, silent, paralyzed, stunned, as Yonin collapsed to his knees and sobbed brokenly into his hands.

' _The three of us always used to gaze up at the sky together. That sky is no where to be seen now.'_

* * *

The first rays of sunlight tinged the sky red. Up there on the ramparts, the wind was harsher, colder, tugging her hair from its loose ties and sucking her clothes tighter to her back.

"Lady Wan-soo!" a pair of guards saluted. "His highness and General Hae are no where to be found within the palace nor in its vicinity."

Her solemn eyes looked down upon the red-washed capital. "I see."

"I'll dispatch some men to pursue them-"

"No," Wan-soo cut in, "We can ignore them."

"What? You're going to let them live? But…"

"Now that they've left the palace, there's nothing they can do to us. Anyway…" Her face hardened. "... We've more important things to do.'

 **CHAPTER FOUR END**


	5. Chapter 5: Just Breathing

**Chapter Five: Just Breathing**

Hae held out the stick. Impaled upon it was a fish, shriveled from heat. She had gutted it, but didn't bother with descaling it. It was too much of a hassle. "Aren't you going to eat, your highness?" The campfire casted its warm glow on his haggard face. There came no response, no acknowledgement, and Hae drew her arm back. Perhaps it didn't look appetizing enough… "If you don't want fish, I can catch a bird."

But those purple eyes stayed on the fire, which danced in the hazy, glassy depths. Hae looked there, too, resigned in her continuous failures, failures to protect, to help, though she would never stop trying to do either of those things. She poked another stick at the fire, the cracks and pops blending with the susurration of the leaves. "You should eat a little, at least. The mountain paths from here on out will be much more difficult. I don't know how much food I'll be able to find. Here we know there's fish."

Her only answer was a log falling and releasing sparks into the air.

Fire out and fish stored for later, Hae led Yonin down to the river. Yonin didn't seem to care, but he was still caked in mud and blood and dried sweat. His hair hung limply about his shoulders. Hae thought it would do him some good to bathe. Every couple of steps, she made sure to look back. The light of dawn hadn't quite reached through the canopy, but anyone could tell that wasn't why Yonin walked so slowly. In the dim, he shuffled like some despondent, sorrowful spirit to be burned away by the rays of the sun.

' _He's getting weaker and weaker.'_

The gentle babbles of the stream became clearer. Fortunately, there was a pond, about waist-deep to someone Yonin's size. Hae turned away and listened to the prince's mechanical movements, like a stiff marionette, as he undressed. Splashes, wading, more splashes, and Hae turned to snatch up the prince's clothes and clean them off elsewhere.

' _The weakness isn't just physical, either. Time's passing, but he still can't face the reality of the situation.'_ There were relatively few spots of blood on his clothing, and Hae's jaw clenched when she realized the blood wasn't Yonin's. _'Her majesty's death, Wan-soo's betrayal-'_

"Aah!"

The instant she heard the cry, she bolted up, an undergarment clenched in a white-knuckled grip, and rushed to Yonin. Shivering, wet red hair plastered to his skin, Yonin sat naked on the rocky shore. All over his long pale legs were thick, glistening black lines.

"W-What are these _things_?" he breathed.

Hae sighed a breath of relief. "They're leeches." She knelt down. "Hold still." Unflinching, she began picking them off and flicking them back into the water."Take that!" She moved onto the next slender leg, which Yonin unconsciously shifted for better access. "They suck blood. You can find them in swamps and ponds like these."

"... blood…?"

"Don't worry, they can't hurt you." She tilted her face back up to Yonin's.

Water glistened on his pristine skin, an arm wrapped around his torso and the other barring his more… intimate parts from view. Eyes wide, Hae bolted up and turned away. "I'll leave your clothes here when I'm finished." She set the long cloth on a rock, and Yonin took it to dry himself off.

The image of that glistening flesh wasn't banished as easily as Hae hoped. _'Crap. Don't get any funny ideas,'_ she snarled to herself. Intrusive thoughts like that had no place in this situation because _'From now on, I have to take him everywhere I go. And, normally, he would've swatted me upside the head.'_ His listless expression stared back at her every time she blinked. _'How long is he going to be in this condition? He doesn't eat. He goes wherever I put him. He's like a doll.'_

"Are you happy now?" she growled to the darkness. _'The years we spent together, the prince who adored you - you destroyed it all._ ' Her lips twisted into a snarl. _'Are you satisfied,_ Wan-soo _?'_ Rage quaked through her every nerve and tendon, and she breathed deeply, each inhale slowly piecing her composure back together. She gathered up the rest of Yonin's clothes. Something clattered from the folds and onto the stones.

A small gilded band, tiny emeralds and pale wood.

Hae knelt down and picked it up. The gold felt cold and harsh and dead in her hand. _'This is the bun pin Wan-soo gave him at the party.'_ It seemed like a lifetime ago. Smiling and laughing and talking. _'He kept it.'_ Her fingers tightened around the pin.

Blue eyes glimmered coldly in the waxing light.

* * *

The morning sun reflected brilliantly off of his hair, but his shoulders were still slightly hunched and limp.

"Prince Yonin," she began. He looked over his shoulder. The pale traveling cloak dangled from her fingers. "We have to hurry. We need to cover more ground before dark."

Winding through the woods, tugging him by his wrist, occasionally foraging for edible plants and mushrooms. The sun ascended and descended, and Yonin just barely noticed his not noticing. Though the forest remained, the terrain became more rocky, and when they came upon a small cave yawning into a hillside, Hae halted.

"Let's stop here for the night."

He blankly stared at a centipede scurrying over a rock, legs undulating and antennae flicking back and forth. Hae followed his gaze. "Don't worry, the bugs are harmless." When Yonin still didn't sit, she continued, "And I got rid of all the leeches back at the pond."

 _The pond._

Yonin's eyes widened, and he grabbed beneath his cloak. His fingers only closed around fabric. He sharply inhaled, hands frantically patting his kimono down. It was gone.

"What's the matter?" Hae asked quietly, blue eyes sharp, "Did you lose something?"

Purple eyes blinked at her, red hair swaying as he shook his head.

She turned away to start the fire. Eventually, the pair sat in silence, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind and the crackling of the flames.

' _I don't need that thing.'_

Hae offered him some berries, but he distractedly waved them off.

' _I don't need it at all.'_

" _Yonin… I think your hair is wonderful… Such a beautiful red… like the sky at dawn…"_

But… It was proof. Proof of… something. That Wan-soo wasn't entirely evil. Or was entirely evil, deceptive, deceitful. Or wasn't. Yonin needed that proof, whatever it was proving. He looked over his shoulder to stare into the foreboding forest of darkness.

Maybe it got lost on the way.

He stood and began to take a step out, out into the night, when a small, calloused hand wrapped around his and tugged him back.

"Where are you going?" Hae asked as the prince stumbled back, their faces coming close together so she could scrutinize him.

Yonin righted himself and blinked down at her half-crouched form. "O-Oh… um…" Those blue eyes seemed purple, too, in the red firelight. "I-I was just…" He flushed and sweated nervously. He couldn't tell her.

She mistook the cause of the flighty anxiety. _'Oh. He must need to relieve himself.'_ She released his hand. "Hurry back, okay?"

He nodded curtly and rushed into the dark. Only starlight guided him as he frantically retraced their steps. It had to be out there, somewhere. Numerous times he stumbled to his knees, and each time he came up he was that much more panicked. Branches and leaves rustled, but he only saw Wan-soo's beaming face. Sticks and twigs caught at his clothes and hair and skin, but he only saw his mother's blood unfurling on the floor. His toes caught on a root, and he collapsed to his knees. Pale fingers clutched at red hair to try and keep those haunting images out. A bush crunched beneath his foot as he staggered upright. When he was still, catching his breath, the leaves still stirred.

Then, he heard a hiss.

His heart stopped in his chest as he looked over his shoulder.

There, waxy scales dully reflecting the moonlight, coiled a snake. Yonin stood, frozen in fear, as the head slowly rose up.

" _The woman you knew…"_

It hissed in warning, coils tensing and poising.

" _... never existed."_

Trembles raced down his spine, but he still couldn't get his locked muscles to move.

" _If anyone gets in my way…"_

The serpent lunged, fangs flashing.

" _... I will destroy them."_

"No!" Yonin cried.

Arms wrapped around him, yanked him back. It was Hae. Yonin ended up on his knees, Hae crouching above him. Beyond her shoulder, the snake writhed in its death throes, the blade of Hae's polearm skewering its head to the ground.

"You were gone for so long," Hae began, countenance reproachful as her panic faded, "Why did you come all this way?" When Yonin didn't immediately reply, her hands latched onto his shoulders, lifted him slightly to her face, and shook him with barely restrained anger. "That snake was _venomous_. And it's dark - you could slip and fall! I can't believe you came here alone! Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?!"

They both suddenly paused, Yonin shaking before they looked down at the ground. Dozens of slithering, scaly bodies undulated around their feet. "Not good... " Hae muttered, "They must nest around here." Where they huddled for warmth during chilly mountain nights.

A gasp tore through Yonin's lungs as she snatched him up into her arms damsel-style. Even though Yonin was taller than her, he had also lost far too much weight in the past couple days. He was light enough that she could still grab her quandao in one hand under him.

One step, two, three, and a sizzling hiss before she flinched, staggering a little. "Ow!" Sweat trickled down her jaw, her teeth bared, but the corner of her lip twinged into a stiff smile. "Tch! Fine." She kept running, dashing through the forest. "Just stay quiet and hold on tight, Prince. Think of me as a _tool_. With her majesty gone, _you_ are my master now." The speed at which they were rushing between the trees actually made Yonin a little dizzy (though most of it was because he'd ate little-to-nothing since they left the palace), so he kept his eyes locked onto Hae's face. "Use me however you have to in order to _survive_." A grimace of a smirk. "That's why I'm here."

* * *

It didn't take long for them to reach the cave, even though Hae insisted on carrying the prince the whole way back. Once there,she quickly set him down. She hurriedly foraged for wild plants, and After applying the salve, she wordlessly wrapped with wound with a strip of cloth.

Without her boot on, Yonin thought her foot looked so small, soft, and slender. Frail, even. The grimaces and hissed breaths and sweaty face didn't help, though. Dismay and worry, so much worry, coursed through him.

Hae, sensing eyes boring into her temple, turned to face him. That distraught expression made her lip twitch. "I'm fine," she murmured, gingerly scooting back to lean against the rocky wall of the cave, "I know how to treat venomous snakebites." A hand delved into her pocket. "Is this what you were looking for, Prince?" She hold out the bun pin.

Stunned, Yonin reached out, hand trembling. Fragile fingers cradled it, like some ephemeral, dying flower. Hae regarded the scene quietly for a few moments before saying grimly, "I'll never forgive Wan-soo." Wide purple eyes flicked up to her, pale hands falling onto fabric. "But the important thing is that I want you to live."

She bent one knee up to prop her wrist on. _'Looking for that hairpin was the first was the first thing you did of your own volition since we entered the mountains. Right now, I need something to hold you together. Even if it's a feeling that you can't let go.'_

* * *

The morning light streaming onto his face woke Yonin. Slowly, he lifted himself from where he had fallen asleep on Hae's shoulder. Outside the cave, the wind whispered through the trees and birds hopped from branch to branch. Blearily, blinking sleep from his eyes, he glanced down at Hae's leg.

Her robes and trousers beneath had ridden up a little, baring the cloth wrapped around. Unconsciously, Yonin reached out, pale hand unfolding sleepily as he went to touch it.

"I'm fine."

Her voice made him lurch back and wonder how long she had been awake with her eyes closed.

Blue eyes smirked from behind the black hair dangling in her face. "Do you think some lousy snake is gonna do in _General Hae_?" She shifted forward and stood, no sign of being injured. But Yonin's eyes still followed her with concern. "Now that you're up, let's get moving."

More clumsily, Yonin stood as well. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Oh… um… Hae?"

She was gathering up the remainders of their meager supplies. "Hmm?"

"Why are we going into the mountains?" Yonin had wondered all along, but didn't really have the energy to ask before. "We should find a village. We need food and medicine." Medicine for that leg wound Hae was pretending not to have.

She shook her head and picked up her quandao. "Too dangerous. Even if villagers don't know what we look like, soldiers from the palace could be anywhere. And Wan-soo may have posted sketches of our faces."

Red brows furrowed a little. "Then… where are we headed?"

"The only place we can rely on now; Fuuga, the capital city of the Wind Tribe. My hometown."

 **CHAPTER FIVE END**

 **"With this, we have finished Vol. 1 of the manga. I hope you guys are having as much fun as I am with this," Draconicmaw says as she thumbs through Vol. 2. "We have lots of fun stuff ahead of us." She chuckles darkly. "So much fun stuff..."**


	6. Chapter 6: The Wind Tribe

**Chapter 6: The Wind Tribe**

When Hae stepped upon the ridge, pebbles tumbled down. The mountain breeze was brisk and crisp, and it continuously ruffled the short ebony strands of her hair. "Look, Prince. You can see it from here."

Yonin approached, hood pulled over his brilliant hair. Sure enough, numerous buildings were nestled amongst the rocks and clouds and hardy mountain trees. A plateau rose above it all, upon which squatted a palace, not quite as grand as Hiryuu Palace, but a palace nonetheless.

"That's the Wind Tribe capital, Fuuga." Where Hae grew up.

They wound their way down from the ridge, onto the road, and to the gateway arch. There, leaning against the pale brick wall and each other, were a dark-haired teenage girl and a freckle-faced teenage boy, both just Yonin's age or younger. Their eyes were closed, their chests moving with deep, slow breaths, heads knocked back upon each other's shoulders. Asleep. The girl was even snoring, and they were both drooling a little. Hae's eyes narrowed (most people's equivalent would be a deep scowl), and swung her leg out. The kick caught the girl right in the thigh, and when she fell, so did the boy.

"Ow!"

"Yeouch!"

"What the -" the boy's head whipped around, the hair - not bound in the two small braids ringing his head - fanning in his face.

"Are the tribe's guards given _nap times_ now?" Hae drawled.

The boy gasped, honey eyes widening. "Oh! Lady Hae!"

She waved one dirty hand with a bland expression. "Yo."

The girl propped her hand on her chin, the feathers from her headband brushing her knuckles. "Wow, it's been forever! Like, what, ten years? What brings you here?"

"It's been _three_ years, Tae-hui," Hae cut in before the boy started.

"Did they fire you as general?" he asked. "It's okay; tomorrow's another day."

Hae's blue eyes rolled exasperatedly. "You two haven't changed - not a care in the world." She remembered when she used to be like that. It seemed so long ago, like decades, and not three years.

The two stood and extended their arms, undulating them in sync.

"We're part of the Wind Tribe," the boy sang.

"We sleep when we're tired and -"

"- We let the wind take us wherever it blows…"

"Who the hell put you two on guard duty?" Hae sighed, mostly to herself, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Bandits could easily overrun the capital at this rate. They'd just have to make it past the sleeping guards.

Fascination hummed through Yonin, unconcealed, as he observed the interaction, and he jumped a little in surprise when someone called, "Chieftess!" Men and women from the town had spotted her and began to gather at the gate.

"Young chieftess!"

"Lady Hae!"

"It's been so long!"

The chatter built into a din as several young men, some simpering, some shy, all vying for the influential bachelorette's attention, gravitated toward her.

"When did you get back?"

"Beautiful as ever, I see," one complimented, even though Hae personally felt travel-worn and in need of a bath.

However, relief still washed through her at their reactions. _'Looks like they haven't heard any rumors from Hiryuu Palace yet_. _I don't see any of the palace guards around, either.'_

"Oh!" One exclaimed, as they all finally noticed her traveling companion and swarmed around him like bees to a flower.

One young man scowled. "Who's _he?"_

A woman chuckled mischievously. "Lady Hae's man?"

"What! No way!"

Hae quickly cut in, "He's an apprentice gentleman-in-waiting from Hiryuu Palace." Even though she trusted her people, she could not let them know of Yonin's true identity.

"Really? _Him?_ "

Yonin blinked hazily. Fatigue washed over him, and the crush of people made his head feel light and stuffy.

"What's your name?" The question echoed dully.

"Where are you from?" Like… through… water…

His vision went blank as his eyes rolled back, his knees buckling under him, and he toppled.

"He fainted!" cried the man who caught him.

Instantly, Hae turned. Two alarmed young men knelt on the ground, Yonin held between them. "What happened to him?" another one murmured.

"Kind of a weakling, hmm?"

Hae pushed her way through and crouched down beside them. Yonin's face was completely slack, and he didn't respond when she lightly tapped his cheek. She slipped an arm around his shoulder and the other around his knees before she stood. His head lolled back against her arm, baring his slender throat and spilling his crimson hair to drape down. Her grip adjusted, rested his cheek against her shoulder. The soft, faint breaths filtering through her clothes to her clavicle reassured her.

Hae addressed the freckle-faced boy, "Han-dae, get him a place to rest and something to eat right way."

"O… on it!"

"The young chieftess' being nice to a boy…" an older woman whispered in surprise.

Han-dae and Hae both walked down the street and left the dispersing crowd behind. "Where is Gran - ah, Elder Chieftess Mon Yeong?"

"At Hiryuu Palace."

Hae froze, eyes wide, before she reigned in her expression. "What?"

Han-dae's hands rested on his slender hips. "I thought you might not know. She got summoned for a meeting of the Five Tribes all of a sudden."

"A meeting of the Five Tribes…" she echoed. Wan-soo was already on the move.

"But since you're posted there, wouldn't it have made more sense for _you_ to attend?" Han-dae shrugged when Hae did not answer, his strawberry blond hair brushing his shoulders. "It seems strange that they called on Elder Chieftess Mon-yeong, since she's not a general anymore." The moment of seriousness passed, and he grinned at her. "Have you been fired, Lady Hae?"

' _A meeting of the Five Tribes - a gathering of all the Tribal leaders. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Sky, the royal family. Each Tribe's chieftess is also called a general. They're the mightiest warriors of the land. They're supposed to defend the empress and the Tribes. If Wan-soo is calling them together, that means things are moving more quickly than I thought…'_

* * *

"Her majesty is _dead?!_ " The exclamation rang through the vaulted council room.

"What in the world is going on?" General Yi Gyu-ri of the Earth Tribe demanded. She was a bronze-skinned, battle-hardened warrior. The dappled pelt of a big cat hung around her shoulders, and her brown hair was pulled into a high, wild ponytail. "I was wondering why we were called together like this. And now you say the empress is dead?"

Water Tribe General Ahn Jeong-ji held her chin between her forefinger and thumb. Her light hair was drawn back underneath the ornate bandanna covering her head (a popular fashion in the Water Tribe), though pieces of her bangs still dangled over her narrow eyes. "What's more, Prince Yonin and General Son Hae have gone missing. What's happening in this palace?"

A woman with the top half of her long, fine, pin-straight gray hair pulled back tightly into a high bun cut a glance toward the oldest woman at the table. "Perhaps Elder Chieftess Mon-yeong knows something about General Hae's whereabouts."

"What are you trying to imply, you Fire Tribe green-horn?" The old woman asked, knuckles against her chin.

Fire Tribe's Kan Seo-jin fanned herself. "The palace is swarming with rumors that General Hae murdered her majesty and has taken Prince Yonin hostage." Her fan hid her smug grin. "People say it's Wind Tribe _treachery_."

Jeong-ji held a graceful, delicate hand up. "Let's not jump to conclusions. We don't know where they went. Perhaps something happened to General Hae."

Gyu-ri scoffed, her amber eyes narrowing. "The Thunder Beast's power surpassed mine when she was but thirteen. She wouldn't die so easily."

Seo-jin's fan snapped shut. "Perhaps, but I hear she seriously injured many of the palace's soldiers."

"Simmer down." A clear voice cut above all others. An elegant young woman standing at the head of the table, until this moment silent, regarded the others with solemn eyes. Over her shoulder loomed a tall woman with a scar marring her right cheek. It was General Han Ju-mi of the Sky Tribe, whose true leader was the empress. While the other generals wore formal robes, Ju-mi was adorned in armor; she also served as Wan-soo's bodyguard. "Three days ago, her majesty was assassinated by an unknown assailant. Prince Yonin and General Hae's whereabouts are likewise unknown."

"Lady Wan-soo, so it's all true?"

Wan-soo gestured with a dainty hand. "We're still looking into what happened to the two of them. Please leave the investigation to us. If you find them, contact the palace immediately. Try not to harm them or let word get out without our authorization."

The Earth Tribe Chieftess leaned forward, confounded. "But-"

Wan-soo cut her off, "If this information becomes public, the nation will fall into turmoil. It could incite _war_ amongst the tribes." She paused to let her words sink in before she continued. "And even if that doesn't happen, our nation is unstable. The Kai Empire to the north or the southern nations of Xing or Sei could threaten us at any time." For such a delicate woman, her face was fierce and resolute. "It's critical that the Five Tribes work as quickly as possible strengthen Kouka and keep our borders secure."

All of the women present soaked in he sudden pregnant silence. Jeong-ji bowed her head, more pieces of her pale hair falling from beneath her ornate bandanna and onto her solemn face. "Indeed," her words were quiet, measured. "Empress Ila so desperately wanted to avoid war with other nations that she offered up our land as tribute."

Gyu-ri's bronzed fist balled up against the table's polished surface. "At the moment, the empire of Kouka has very little influence." Her brow tensed. "Now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves."

Seo-jin opened her fan again. "For stability…" All eyes turned to her. "... We need a new empress."

Mon-yeong's eye narrowed.

A woman with long, abyssal hair approached from the corner of the room. "Unfortunately, in Prince Yonin's absences, the only member of the royal family able to take the throne is in this very room." She stood at Wan-soo's right shoulder, the corner of her lip quirking up and her black bangs obscuring half of her face. "Lady Wan-soo is our only choice." Her clear, stern voice rang through the opulent council room. "She is the daughter of Lady Yuon, Empress Ila's elder sister. Under ordinary circumstances, Wan-soo would have been crown princess. There should be no issue with her claiming the throne."

"Quite so, Kyung-sook." All turned to Seo-jin as she stood. "If Wan-soo becomes our new empress, I, Kan Seo-jin of the Fire Tribe…" She bowed elegantly to Wan-soo. "... will pledge my full support."

Kyung-sook gestured to the others with a sweep of the hand. "And the rest?"

"Lady Wan-soo is acceptable," Gyu-ri replied.

"I have no objections," Jeong-ji added.

The end of the table remained silent, and Wan-soo set her narrowed green stare upon the one eye gazing back. Mon-yeong's countenance remained firm and blank, but tension hung heavily over her shoulders as she stood. "I'm sleepy." She turned away and began to shuffle from the room. "I'm so tired. These complex matters are too wearying for an old woman. I'm leaving."

"We aren't done discussing this, Lady Mon-yeong," the dark-haired advisor snapped, reproachful and irritated.

"I'm not a general," Mon-yeong answered, blase. "Hae is the one with which you should speak."

Kyung-sook's nose wrinkled into a sneer. "If you don't back Lady Wan-soo as empress, it will appear as though this really were a plot by the Wind Tribe."

Mon-yeong paused, slowly glaring over her shoulder.

"Hmmm…" Wan-soo scratched behind her ear with a disappointed frown. "Without approval from all five Tribes, I can't become empress." She folded her hands back into her long, draping sleeves. "But without an empress, the nation can't function properly. How can I persuade you to acknowledge me?"

Mon-yeong's expression became almost… sad. "If you'd married Prince Yonin and became empress through proper means, I would have _joyfully_ brought you a wedding gift."

Eyes wide, Wan-soo blinked once before she smiled softly, wistfully.

"You know…" Mon-yeong was facing the door again. "Hae wouldn't have left the palace without reason." Though crackling with old age, her voice still held the intensity of a storm. "I cannot support your accession."

Wan-soo's eyes lowered. "We'll be holding the coronation in three days. It can't go forward without the approval of the Wind Tribe." The other three chieftesses felt their breath still as Wan-soo continued with a darker, disingenuous tone. "But I believe you'll be here then, Elder Chieftess Mon-yeong…" A cold, mercilessly predatory glint flared in her eyes. "... for the sake of the people of Fuuga."

The old woman's head turned slightly, but she did not look back.

"This is a sad day. Lady Wan-soo, I once thought of you as I do Hae. As a _granddaughter_." With that, she left the room and those downcast green eyes.

* * *

The sun shone brilliantly down upon the ramparts of Hiryuu Palace. Wan-soo politely bowed to the woman before her. "Well done, General Seo-jin. Thanks to your cooperation, the meeting went the way we'd hoped, though I didn't expect so much opposition from the Wind Tribe."

Seo-jin bowed as well, but her next words took Wan-soo aback. "Aren't you being soft-hearted?"

"I do not know to what you are referring."

"I can't believe you're pursuing Prince Yonin and General Hae without killing them. If hey spread the truth-"

Wan-soo abruptly turned away. "Hae's no fool, General Kan." The wind tugged at the young woman's pale hair and fine clothing. "If she goes around telling the truth and causing a fuss, she'll put Prince Yonin in danger. Therefore, she'll lie low to protect him." The pause was filled to the brim with tension. "We must prepare for opposition from the Wind Tribe. General Kan, please proceed with the next step of the plan."

Seo-jin's clothing rustled as she bowed. "Yes, my lady." The whisperings of her robes and the patter of her steps faded until Wan-soo was left in silence.

But that silence was torn asunder by the thundering of hooves on stone. Below, Mon-yeong stormed through on horseback, the ends of her headband and of the hem of her cloak flapping wildly.

Wan-soo watched and slowly sank down, arms propped on the top of the rampart. "Thank you." She pressed her cheek to the soft fabric of her sleeves. "I was so happy when you said you saw me as a granddaughter, Lady Mon-yeong."

* * *

Yonin's eyelids slowly dragged open. The lattice of beams above him slowly came into focus, and, with a soft groan, he dragged his aching body into a sitting position. _'Where am I?'_ He sat upon a simple futon in a traditional, sparsely furnished room. He looked down at his hands. They were clean again, only marred by the healing scrapes across his palms. It was then that he noticed the sleeve of his robe. _'These aren't my clothes.'_ The linen felt alien beneath his fingertips when he touched his arm.

He rubbed his face and breathed deeply through his nose.

' _Something smells good._ ' A little tray was out to the side with several dishes spread out on top of it. The lid of the bowl clacked on its rim as he lifted it up. Steam rolled up in voluptuous, aromatic clouds.

Rice porridge.

He spooned some up, lifted it to his lips, gently blew on it, and at it. The warmth pervaded his whole body, percolated to his soul, make little tears bead up at the corners of his eyes.

The door slid open and a tiny foot stepped in. "Why are you crying?" It was a little girl with light brown, nearly blonde, hair, Wind Tribe garb, and a blue cap. "D..." She looked at Yoninn anxiously. "Does it taste bad?"

Yonin shook his head, chuckled sheepishly, as the little girl closed the door and knelt at the edge of his futon. "I-It's so warm…"

"You're crying 'cuz it's warm? That's weird."

"I was thinking about my m-mother…"

The little girl had such pretty blue eyes. They reminded him a bird's egg he had once found in the palace garden. She peered intently at his face. She crawled forward. One of her hands wrapped around his finger, and the other came up to gently wipe his tears away. She smiled, a small, soft smile, eyes seemingly wiser than her years. "I'm Yeon-tae," she said as she drew back. "Hae's my big sister."

Yonin blinked down at her. "Hae's… little sister…"

Yeon-tae nodded. "Are you her friend?"

Yonin held his chin in his hand. "A friend…?" They'd known each other for a long time. As long as Yonin could remember. And Hae willingly became his bodyguard. She couldn't hate him _too_ much. "Probably…?"

The door slid open with a loud clatter.

"' _Probably_ ' her friend?!" two aghast voices cried in unison. It was the two young napping guards from earlier.

The girl, Tae-hui (Yonin just noticed that her ebony hair was short, just like Hae's), sobbed, a clenched fist held up. "At least say you're her lover or her consort!"

The freckle-faced boy wept into his hand melodramatically. "He's 'probably' her friend?!" He wilted further. "Poor Lady Hae! He doesn't return her feelings -"

Hae, who had been walking down the hall, smashed the pommel of her quandao into the back of his head and slammed him into the floor, dark fury clouding her face.

"... at all…" the boy wheezed out.

With a few twists, Hae ground his skull into the floor. "Do you want me to tear your tongue out, Han-dae?" she asked, dangerous, level.

His hands futilely scrambled at the floor, and Tae-hui patted his shoulder. "No, no, please don't, Lady Hae…"

The pressure lifted off him, and Hae stepped over his prone body as if stepping over a mud puddle. "That's what I thought." She set her weapon against the wall, and Yeon-tae scampered over to Han-dae to play with his braids while he was vulnerable.

Yonin blinked up at the young woman. Her fresh, clean robes were a soft green, and her hair glossy and oil-free. Iit brought out the blue of her eyes, which glared down at Yonin with suspicion. "Who're you calling a _friend_?"

Red eyebrows knitted together. "Huh? Would you prefer _'servant'_ , then?"

Hae lunged forward. Her hand clasped and tightened over his mouth, her face looming over his as she practically straddled him. The hard, stern expression she wore brooked no protest, and the ends of her hair tickled his cheeks. "Your name is Ri," she murmured in a low voice, "and you're an apprentice gentleman-in-waiting from the palace. That's how I'll be treating you while we're here." Her gaze narrowed into blue slits. "Got it?"

Stunned, Yonin nodded.

"All right. Good man." She pulled away and looked to the others.

Tae-hui's cheeks were painted red, her mouth agape as she desperately covered a squirming Yeon-tae's eyes. Han-dae's ears blazed, but he still peeked between the fingers over his face.

A scowl twisted Hae's face, and she stomped to Tae-hui. The younger girl quickly released the child and tried crawling away, but Hae still managed to kick her legs and stomp on her back. "I didn't do anything Yeon-tae shouldn't see!"

"It just looked kinda dirty, Lady Hae!"

Ignoring the commotion, Yeon-tae scampered back over to the red-haired guest. "Hey, Ri? What's my sister like at the palace? She's been a general since I was three, and she's been off protecting the prince, so I don't really know her all that well."

The words made Yonin's chest tight. He hardly remembered his father, but he could remember always asking his mother what the man was like. So he thought hard about how to accurately describe the young woman.

"At the palace, Hae is…"

" _There's definitely something wrong with his brain."_

Or that time -

" _Hae will die under the prince's weight soon…"_

"Insolent."

Hae, who had been listening, snapped around at the word.

"No, wait. She's insensitive."

Hae stared, lips parted.

"No, um… arrogant?"

Tae-hui and Han-dae gaped as the young man continued.

"Or maybe… unpleasant…"

Laughter exploded from the two, and the rolled around, clutching their guts, smacking the floor, and wiping their tears.

"Or…"

"You've made your point. Stop it," Hae cut in churlishly.

"You're the best, Ri!" Han-dae gasped, delight shining in his tear honey eyes. "Ha ha ha! He called her unpleasant!" He nudged Tae-hui with his elbow. "And he's not wrong!"

"You're enjoying this too much, Han-dae. _Get over here!"_

"Eep!"

Hae snagged the young man in a headlock and furiously ground her knuckles into his scalp. His best friend simply sat back, pointed, and laughed.

' _Everyone is smiling,'_ Yonin thought with awe. _'They're all so cheerful. So this is where Hae grew up…'_

Hae shoved Han-dae away, and he flopped onto the floor, strawberry blond hair tousled. When she turned, she caught the expression on Yonin's face. A soft smile and dreamy eyes filled with light.

After all the blankness and distance she had become accustomed to, it caught her off guard.

Yeon-tae climbed into Yonin's lap and twirled his hair around her tiny finger. Yonin pinched the little girl's cheek, and Hae's own lips curled gently.

* * *

The clouds above Fuuga seemed so… fluffy. Like perfect white clumps of cotton. One looked like a turtle. A big, fluffy turtle. The thought made him chuckle a little. The streets of Fuuga were so… different from even the streets of Kuuto (the few times he even managed to sneak out as a small child). So peaceful. Like the mountain breeze itself.

"Ri!"

Aches and pains still resonated through his limbs. But a nice walk was making them feel better.

"Hey, Ri!"

The voice was so much closer, it startled Yonin into turning around. A middle-aged man stared at him expectantly.

' _Oops, he was talking to me.'_

"Oh, hello," he greeted back.

The man chuckled. "Your head's in the clouds, hmm?"

Yonin smiled sheepishly.

"There are lots of kids like you here. Did you sleep well yesterday?"

Yonin nodded.

"You were a gentleman-in-waiting at the palace, right?"

Yonin nodded again.

The man smiled and laughed heartily, his head tossed back. "I hear you came here to train because you can't cook, sew, play the koto, or dance, so they kicked you out! Maybe you should give up trying to be a gentleman!"

Yonin's brows furrowed. He felt slightly offended, but knew it was probably Hae that had told everyone such unpleasant things. He was on the verge of saying something when a huge pile of linen flopped into his arms.

"I'll teach you from the ground up! First, wash these."

"W-Wash them?" Yonin's voice was muffled by the massive pile of cloth.

"Yes, wash them. In the river, naturally." His footsteps faded away.

"The river? Where is it?" Yonin called, but there was no reply. The prince grunted, displeased, trying to balance the pile so it wouldn't topple to the ground.

Part of the pile moved, and Yonin panicked, But half of it simply lifted away. It was Hae, who slung the linen over her shoulder. "It's this way, mister gentleman-in-waiting." She marched off down the street, and Yonin's long strides easily kept pace.

He kept silent, pouting a little as they turned off the road and down a trail obscured by trees.

"What's the matter?" Hae asked drolly.

"I _can_ play the koto and dance… a little."

Hae smirked. "You call that _noise_ 'playing,' huh?"

"Hmph…"

She hadn't heard that sound in a while. "... You seem a bit more like yourself."

Yonin paused, and so did his feet. "Huh?"

Hae kept walking, and Yonin watched the back of her head as she shook it slightly. "Nah, it's nothing."

Purple eyes stared after her before Yonin shook off his daze and strode to catch up. They were going downhill now, winding their way through the trees and into a small valley.

Yonin cleared his throat. "I had no idea you had a little sister. She's so cute… nothing like you."

"That's harsh," she huffed. "Grandma adopted Yeon-tae, same as me. Grandma has a soft spot for orphans. Unlike me, Yeon-tae is sickly, so everyone treats her with extra care. Honestly, she got a bit too worked up yesterday."

They came upon a rocky outcropping, though it had long since been leveled out by the townspeople. A table and a few baskets sat stationary, along with communal washing tools.

"Right, here we are." They both set their piles on the worn tabletop. "Do the laundry in the river." Yonin wandered off, towards the back, as Hae arranged the tools on the table. "The river's very important to our tribe. Some even call it the 'Water of Life.'"

Yonin called back from the bank, "Hae, I don't think I can -"

She rolled her eyes exasperatedly and whipped her head around. "Come one, you haven't even tried yet!"

Yonin pointed, worry etched on his face. "But… There's no water."

Indeed, all that remained was a scoop in the earth and the smallest trickle of moisture where a river should have run.

"The river's all dried up?!"

 **CHAPTER SIX END**

 **Draconicmaw folds her paper a couple more times before she sighs, crumples it up, and tosses it to the side. "No paper hats today." She turns to you. "Hey, there. Long time no see. I guess. Depends on your perception of time, I guess. Anywho, I was trying to update this story once a week, but some stuff popped up and made that not happen." She takes out another piece of paper.**

" **So, I know I said 100% genderbend, but let's be honest. All of the Wind Tribe's greatest warriors being female just isn't realistic. Tae-woo still needs to become general, so I** _ **had**_ **to genderbend him. Which left Han-dae. Who just kinda provides comedic relief. So it wouldn't affect the plot too much if he stayed male. Aaaaannnd now I kinda ship them. A lot. But whatever."**

 **She tries to fold the paper, but it just doesn't turn out. "Also, all guards and soldiers and bandits being women isn't realistic either. I mean, they're still human, so some women just aren't right-off-the-bat physically capable of some of the things men are. I don't want people coming after my head for this, when it's just a simple biological fact, as much as it pains me. But… hey. Hak already had preternatural strength in canon, so… Hae gets a free pass."**

" _ **Annny**_ **ways, I hope you enjoyed reading!"**


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